Ties That Bind
by Jess.91
Summary: Death is easy to fake, when you know how. It's easy to turn good to evil, turn people against their families, make them forget everything they ever knew, ever believed in, and even, maybe, to kill the ones they once loved...
1. Fireballs and Ashes

OK here's another new story. I've had this idea for a while, but I wanted to get my previous stories finished first, then I was working out the details. So, here goes:

**Ties That Bind**

**Summary****: Death is easy to fake, when you know how. It's easy to turn good to evil, turn people against their families, make them forget everything they ever knew, ever believed in, and even, maybe, to kill the ones they once loved...**

Chapter 1 - Fireballs and Ashes

"Phoebe where are you!" Prue yelled, then she and Piper were thrown against the wall. Prue got up quickly and ran forwards, only to be sent back at the wall, with such force that she crashed through it and lost consciousness. Piper was, by now, on her feet, but Shax threw an energy ball at her, sending her flying through the hole in the wall and landing next to her sisters.

"What are you?" Dr. Griffiths whispered.

"The end." Shax replied. The doctor felt no pain as he was killed. Finished, Shax left.

The demon shimmered in once he was sure the coast was clear, knowing he only had a short time...

He darted over to Prue's lifeless body, lifted her up and lifted her over his shoulder. He took a small bag from his pocket and emptied its contents onto the floor where Prue had been lying. He slipped the bag back into his pocket them shimmered out, taking Prue with him...

Only seconds later, Leo orbed in with Phoebe, Cole shimmering after them.

"Piper." Leo breathed and dived to his wife's side, determined he wouldn't lose her, not again.

"Prue?" Phoebe called, looking around. "Prue?" That's when she saw it. The ashes that lay next to Piper. But it couldn't be – Couldn't – She looked frantically around, desperation and denial engulfing her.

As her wounds healed and vanished, Piper regained consciousness and found herself being hugged frantically by her husband.

"Leo? What happened...?" Piper asked.

"You and Prue were exposed..." Leo began, and explained as quickly as he could, as Phoebe desperately looked around, ignoring what she already knew.

"Piper, where's Prue?" Phoebe asked quickly, once Leo was done.

"Uh... she was right..." Piper looked to her side and frowned. "She was right here, I saw her before I passed out..." She too silently tried to convince herself that they couldn't be... Silently, Cole moved to the other side and knelt down.

"Ashes." Cole murmured. "They're ashes."

"Prue." Piper whispered. "Prue!" She yelled, and when she had no response, she knew. "No..." She whispered, looking at what was left of her sister as Phoebe screamed and collapsed into Cole's arms.

--

He knew the ritual by heart - it was important that ever detail was perfect. If he did just one thing wrong, who knew what could happen? And he'd been planning this for almost a year now...

"Did you get it?" His aide whispered from the shadows of the cave opening.

"Of course I did. She's right here." Ricker, the demon, laid Prue of the stone floor, in the middle of the circle he had carved himself. "Get the candles." He told his aide, who hurried to the shelf in the corner. Ricker arranged Prue so she was laid flat on her back, her arms by her sides. His aide set the jet black candles inside the smaller circles that were marked around, then lit them with the tip of his finger. The purple flames threw shadows around the walls, and over the witch.

As a rule, demons didn't generally use candles, but they were important, such simple things and so important. Once they were all lit, the aide darted back to the shelf, picked up the small metal bowl and carried back to Ricker who picked up a handful of the red powder inside. He threw it over Prue, and added another handful, then another. Then he began to chant the words he knew, and slowly the powder turned to smoke, which rose around her, and he knew, he knew it was working...


	2. Memories

Chapter 2 - Memories

**Characters**:

Piper/Leo:

Wyatt, 14 years old. Part Witch, Part Whitelighter. Powers: Orbing, heat wave, force-field.

Chris, 13 years old. Part Witch, Part Elder. Powers: Orbing, Telekinesis, static bolts.

Melinda, 10 years old. Part Witch, Part Mortal. Powers: Freezing, Blowing up, ice-over.

Phoebe/Coop:

Prudence, 11 years old. Part Witch, Part Cupid. Powers: Levitation, teleportation, mind-control.

Paris, 10 years old. Part Witch, Part Cupid. Powers: Premonition, teleportation, mind-reading.

Phoenix, 8 years old. Part Witch, Part Cupid. Powers: Empathy, teleportation, plant subliminal thoughts.

Paige/Henry:

Lydia, 10 years old. Part Witch, Part Whitelighter, Part Mortal. Powers: Orbing, glamouring, materialisation (make an object appear from nowhere)

Sydney, 10 years old. Part Witch, Part Whitelighter, Part Mortal. Powers: Orbing, tele-orbing, molecular manipulation (change an object from one thing to another).

Henry jnr, 7 years old. Part Witch, Part Whitelighter, Part Mortal. Powers: Orbing, suffocation, force-field.

(All the kids are telepathic)

--

A/N: Everything that happened in the show happened, the only difference being the way Prue died.

--

Melinda Halliwell threw another handful of poppy seeds into the smallest cauldron, and jumped back with surprise when it exploded, sending purple smoke into the air. She wasn't sure exactly what she'd just made, but it relaxed her to make something, anything. She contemplated adding some crushed watch-beetle to the mix, when her older brother Chris walked in.

"What happened?" She asked, watching his little sister waft away the smoke with her hands.

"Too many poppy seeds happened." She replied mildly, unable to keep the upset from her voice.

"OK, next question." Chris said, walking over to the refrigerator. "What's wrong?" He took a bottle of water out of the fridge then swung the door shut.

"Nothing." Melinda lied, looking deliberately at the crushed beetle. It would probably make a bigger explosion, and that's what she wanted right now.

"Linnie." He said, walking over to the island she was stood at. No one called Melinda by her full name - for as long as she could remember it had been Linnie.

"It's nothing..." She muttered.

"Those girls again?" He asked, sitting on a stool opposite her. Reluctantly, she nodded. "Because of dad?" Again, a nod.

"They keep calling me a teacher's pet, and saying 'ooh don't pick on her, she'll tell _daddy_'." Linnie confided bitterly.

"Don't let it bother you. We all had it, but they'll stop after a while." He told her. "And if you want, I could orb them into a volcano?" He offered, and, as desired, it raised a smile.

"Mum would freak."

"I won't tell her if you won't." Chris smiled.

"She'd find out. Thanks anyway." Linnie smiled back. "Maybe I'll just turn Annie's book into a toad... she's scared of them..."

"There you go, creative thinking." He grinned. "Make sure it can't be traced back to you, though."

"Dad would know. And mum would."

"Yeah, but you'd be grounded at home, and no one at school would know anything." Chris told her with a shrug

"And it's a risk I'm willing to take." Linnie grinned.

"All better?"

"All better." Linnie nodded.

"OK, get this cleared away before mum or dad gets home. You know they don't like us messing around with magic when they're not around."

"Right." Linnie flashed him her best smile. "Help?"

"Nu-uh. I fixed the problem, you clear the mess." Chris replied.

With a loud, over-dramatic sigh, Linnie slowly carried the cauldron over to the sink and threw the mixture down the plug hole.

--

Prue was the strongest demon in the underworld, and she knew it. Everyone was scared of her, and she loved it.

For the last fifteen years she had lived as a demon, although she knew she wasn't. Ricker had always been honest with her - she had been a witch, a good witch, who he had turned. He had told her how she had no family left, and how she had been part of a coven. He had told her how weak she had been, and how easily he could have killed her. But he hadn't, he had turned her into what she now was, and she eternally grateful.

As she strode into the cavern she had made her home, her eldest son, Preston, shimmered in. The thirteen year old was fast becoming as strong as she, and judging by the blood on his trousers he had killed the witch his father had sent him after.

"Did you do it?" She asked, for confirmation, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Of course I did." He replied. "The witch screamed the whole time, too. But I got her atheme." He held the shiny dagger up to show her, and she smiled. No one knew what exactly her sons were - weather they were witches or demons or something else entirely. Prue didn't care - they were powerful, and that's all that mattered.

"As soon as your brothers and father get back, we can go to the market." She promised. Seconds later, her middle son shimmered in.

"She knew how to fight," the eleven year old, Parker, commented. He showed them his forearm, which had a long, bloody line carved into it. "And her power isn't even that good." He added. "Astro-projection." He snorted. Something stirred in Prue's mind, in her memories... astro-projection?

She knew that it had something to do with her old life, so she ignored it. This happened sometimes, she got a sense of familiarization, but she didn't dwell on it. Who cares what once was? All that mattered was now.

"Is Perry with dad?" Parker asked, and Prudence nodded.

"They went after a demon who double-crossed Ricker." She said. "They'll be back soon."

She didn't love Ricker - demons couldn't love anyway - but she still had human emotions sometimes. There was nothing between them other than power. He had taught her all she needed to know, and somewhere along the line they had decided to have the boys, knowing they would be powerful, more than anything ever before. So Preston, Parker, and nine-year-old Perry had been born, and trained. She loved them, sort of. She had the maternal love somewhere, deep beneath the evil that was now her, in the place her human self still lurked.

"But it's so boring." Perry was saying as he shimmered in with his father. "Pointless witches and pointless demons. We want to do something big." Ricker smiled at Prue over the top of their sons heads.

"We all do." Parker joined in. "We want to be challenged."

"Come on, you must know something." Preston added. "Anything..." He looked hopefully at his dad.

--

It had been fifteen years, exactly, now, since they had lost a sister. The Halliwells were gathered at the old manor, all of them, seated in the living room. They were about to have their weekly big family dinner, in the magically extended dining room, but before they had to do what they did every year, on this day.

The large, white, candle was sat on the dining table, the lighter next to it.

"It's your turn." Piper said quietly, and Paige nodded and stepped forward. She picked up the lighter and pressed it to the candle.

"Prue. A lost sister. May we someday meet." Paige said quietly as the flame flickered. The smoke curled into the air, and floated away...

_Be careful what you wish for... it might just come true._


	3. Danger and Lives

Thanks for all the reviews, glad you like the story so far...

Chapter 3 - Danger and Lives

"Make sure you come straight home after school, and do not leave the house." Piper warned.

"Mum, we know. It's not as though we're never alone in the house." Wyatt said.

"Yeah, but usually your dad gets home half an hour after you." Piper pointed out. "Maybe you should go to Paige's instead."

"Mu-um." Chris whined. "We'll only be alone for an extra hour. We'll be fine. Really."

"I know." Piper sighed. "Just.. if any demons come, get your sister and orb to magic school. Don't try fighting them alone."

"We know."

"And if you have any other problems, you have all the numbers, you can call for your aunt Paige if it's urgent. And if you feel you have to, orb out."

"Mum. We've been through this." Linnie sighed.

"I know, I know."

"Honey, breathe." Leo smiled, and Piper shot him a look, followed by a reluctant smile.

"Go on, all of you, or you'll be late." She smiled. The three of them stood up, and grouped together.

"Bye." The kids chorused.

"See you tonight." Leo added.

"Bye. Love you all." Piper said, and seconds later, they were gone.

----

"Right, bags? Homework?" Paige said, as her three got ready to leave.

"We shouldn't get homework. Our uncle runs the place." Lydia grumbled.

"We did it anyway." Sydney added quickly. "Honest."

"Right. See you tonight. Give me a shout before you orb home, in case I'm with a charge, or at the restaurant."

"You have to work today?" Henry asked, as he walked into the living room.

"I'm not meant to, but a big party has booked, and I told Piper to call me if she needed an extra pair of hands. Oh, and Leo has work late, because of the parents evening, so the boys and Linnie will be alone. I'm on call." She smiled.

"OK. Well, I better go."

"Yeah, you too." Paige said to her kids. "Go on."

"Bye." Together, they orbed out, before she could even reply.

----

At her place, Phoebe was supervising teeth-brushing in the bathroom.

"Come on, hurry up." She said, checking her watch. "You're going to be late."

"Leo wouldn't mind." Coop stated. "You know he wouldn't."

"Well, he should. They shouldn't get an advantage because he's their uncle."

"Why not?"

"Because it doesn't give them any independence, and it makes them think someone's always going to be there to let them get away with things and -"

"Ugh, I didn't ask for advice." Coop teased.

"Ha ha. Come on, girls, dressed!" As the three of them raced past to their bedroom, Phoebe pulled on her own jacket. "Shouldn't you be off making people fall in love?" Phoebe asked.

"Probably." Coop nodded. "Do you want a ride to the paper?"

"Er... I really shouldn't." Phoebe replied. "But sure, OK. Girls, come on!" She cried, clapping her hands together. "Why are we always rushing around?" She sighed.

"Because _somebody _always sleeps through the alarm." Coop grinned.

"OK, well, OK, where were you?"

"Off making people fall in love."

"Nice work if you can get it."

"I like to think so."

Finally, Prue, Paris and Phoenix assembled in front of her, pulling on shoes and grabbing lunch boxes.

"Ready." Phoenix announced brightly.

"OK." Phoebe glanced at her watch. "You should just about make it." She uttered a little spell, knocked on the wall, and a large dark-wood door appeared. She flung it open, and followed the girls through, making sure it didn't close. As people were still orbing in and materializing from the walls, she was pretty sure they weren't too late. "Bye!" She called as the three brown-haired girls ran off. "No running!" She added, and was, of course, ignored.

She stepped back into her home, and let the door close. "OK, come on." She grabbed Coop's hand and slowly felt warm creep over her as she glowed red. Seconds later, the appeared in the empty elevator.

----

In the underworld, Ricker shook his head for the thousandth time. "I don't know any more targets." He said.

"You're lying." Preston said. "I can tell."

Ricker threw a glance a Prue, cursing the strange sixth sense he was sure her side had given their boys.

"Am not." Ricker snapped.

"Ricker?" Prue said quietly. "Are you?"

"No! I don't know of any witches that need to be taken down."

"Dad!" Perry cried. "You're such a liar!"

"Is that anyway to talk to your father?!" Ricker snapped, and Prue stumbled back as a flashback hit her.

_"I am nothing like you. I would never leave my responsibilities, my family." That was her voice, and she felt hatred ventalating towards the man in front of her, as well as sadness._

_"I can see we have some issues to work through." The man replied._

_"Oh, we've got the whole subscription. Now get out before I have you thrown out." Prue snapped._

_"Is that anyway to talk to your father?" The man said._

"What did you see?" Ricker asked quickly, as he always did after a flashback.

"Uh, I'm not really sure." Prue replied. "Um, A man... I think he was my father..."

"Why? Why do you think that?"

"Because he said it." Prue replied. "I... I really hated him. He... he abandoned us." She said sadly.

And then Ricker was scared. Before, she had remembered being a witch, battling against demons, but never, never her family. This was dangerous. If she remembered them, she could go back. They could turn her back.

There was only one thing for it.

"Actually, kids, I think I may know a target after all..."

----

The flashback is taken from series one, episode four, Thank You For Not Morphing.


	4. The Biggest Target Ever

So, I guess I must be getting predictable now. Sigh. Aw well, thanks for all the reviews, love them. And to Awf, Prue has three kids, Preston, Parker, and Perry.

Chapter 4 - The Biggest Target Ever

"Really?" Preston beamed, and stepped forward hopefully. He liked to kill, to hurt, liked the smell of blood and fear, the look of pain, the rush, the thrill.

"Yes... I don't know if you'll be able to do it, though." Ricker said carefully.

"Sure we will!" Perry cried.

"OK, OK. Has any of you ever heard of... the Charmed Ones?" He glanced nervously at Prue, for the first time realising his little plan could do more damage than good.

"I think I have." Prue stated, her face screwed up in concentration.

"Yeah, um, maybe another demon mentioned them." Ricker said quickly. "Anyway, anyway, their witches. Powerful ones. Or, at least, they were. They don't do much anymore. They pretty much did everything they were supposed to, and on demon ever managed to kill them." He didn't add, of course, that one Charmed One was thought to be dead, even by all the other demons, that no one knew the true identity of the woman in front of him, no one made the connection - he had killed his aide after turning Prue, he was the only one who knew.

"You think we can?" Parker asked brightly. "Really?"

"Uh, I think so. They are pretty powerful though - and so are their kids."

"Kids?" Prue repeated, and he flinched. He'd triggered the human side again. She was always reluctant to hurt children.

"Witches." He said quickly. "Minor witches. You'd probably have to take them out a few at a time. The charmed ones first, then the minors. Think you can?"

"Sure we can." Perry said brightly.

"They killed the source." Parker said suddenly. "And the Triad... twice. I heard about them."

"Yes... maybe you can't do it."

"We can." Preston replied.

"I want in." Prue said suddenly.

"What?"

"I want in. I want to kill them too."

"Uh... the boys -"

"Are kids. They could do with my help."

He couldn't refuse - she would be suspicious. There was nothing else for it. He nodded. "Sure." All he could do was watch her, and hope she didn't remember...

--

At her restaurant, Piper checked her watch, and decided it was too soon to call home. The kids would have been home for only ten minutes. She'd wait another ten, then check on them.

Instead, she went out to meet the party that had just arrived. The guy, John Hillman, was rich, really rich, and, if tonight went well, could send a lot of rich clients her way.

"Hi, welcome to Charmed." She said, shaking Hillman's hand. "I'm Piper Halliwell -"

"The owner." Hillman said. "I know."

"Right. Hi." Piper smiled awkwardly. "If you'll follow me to your table -"

"Sure. Let's go."

Ignoring the fact that he'd cut her off twice, Piper fixed what Leo called her "work smile" in place and lead the ten or so people over to the largest table, by the far wall.

"I hope we're guaranteed some privacy?" Hillman asked, looking around at the tables which surrounded his own with distaste.

"Ah, sure, sure. These tables will be empty. All night. I personally assure -"

"Good." He cut her off again, and sat down at his table.

_Jerk._ Piper thought, but she kept her smile in place. "Right, well, I'll leave you to get settled in, and someone will be along shortly to take your ord-"

"Fine." Piper turned away before pulling a face, and wondered if he spoke to everyone like that. She walked back into the kitchen, and caught her best waitress, Alyssa, by the arm.

"I want you on the Hillman table tonight." She said. "OK?"

"Ah, sure, OK." Alyssa nodded.

"Good. Bonus, big bonus, I promise."

"He's that bad?" Alyssa asked.

"Yep. But keep on a smile, be polite, and try not to throw his soup over his head - although I understand the temptation."

"OK." Alyssa smiled. She turned away and walked out of the kitchen, while Piper walked back over to the cooker.

No one noticed Preston in the corner - why would they, he was invisible. But he'd located Piper, and watched her, and knew just how to mess up her afternoon...

--

At Phoebe's house, Parker was also invisible, stood in the living room, watching the family he didn't know were his. He studied them, learned their faces, and tried to spot possible weaknesses. Phoenix was small, but that could be an advantage. He surveyed them for over an hour before he saw anything, the only weakness he had noticed was Phoebe's - and that was the way she he hit he knee on the coffee table trying to stop Paris from falling over. She hadn't been bothered about the small cut and trickle of blood - she cared more for them than herself, and, in his eyes, in evil's eyes, it was a weakness.

"Oh, honey, are you OK?" Phoebe said anxiously, scooping up her daughter. "Did you hit yourself?"

"No, I'm OK." The ten-year-old replied.

"Mum, you're bleeding." Prudence cried, and Phoebe glanced down at her knee.

"Oh, it's fine." She said quickly. "Are you sure you're OK?" Paris nodded, and Phoebe gave her a quick hug before heading for the bathroom to clean herself up. Watching, Parker felt strange. He couldn't explain it, but watching Phoebe hug her daughter almost made him jealous... nobody had ever hugged him, except for the first time he'd killed a witch on his own, and his mum had been really proud. He almost - almost - felt as though he was missing out on something...

Parker gave his head a little shake, and told himself to stop being so pathetic. He knew all about his mothers past, but he tried his best to ignore his human part the best he could. No use letting it out, especially when they were about to begin such a big mission.

--

Paige was also being spied on, by Perry. It was the first time he'd been sent on a mission like this alone, and he was determined to do his best. He watched them all, learned how easily Paige was confused, decided little Henry would be the weakest, as the youngest, and memorised their faces so well he would never forget them.

--

At the Halliwell manor, Wyatt, Chris and Linnie were watching TV in the living room, unaware they were being spied on too... by the aunt they thought was dead. Ricker had decided it was safest to send Prue after the children she had never met, so hopefully she wouldn't have flashbacks. It had taken a lot to persuade her, but finally she'd agreed, and now she was actually sat opposite them, also invisible, confidently propping her feet upon the coffee table. She was bored. Watching a bunch of kids made her feel like a babysitter, and none of them were doing anything anyway. She sighed a few times, not bothering to try and silence herself. It was only Linnie who appeared to have heard her - the girl looked around a few times before turning back to the TV uneasily.

She didn't see why this was necessary, personally. Sure, sometimes it was easier to kill if you knew the person, their routine, but they had already decided to take the adults out first, one-by-one, then the kids. As long as they knew the faces of their marks, they could just spring up on them anytime. Knowing that Linnie was considering becoming vegetarian didn't help at all.

And, why was she assigned to spy on the kids? Why not the adults? She would probably take out the adults herself anyway, and leave the brats to her boys, so why wasn't she allowed to see the adult witches? Ricker had been uneasy the whole time, and she didn't like it.

Just as she was shimmering out, something caught her eye. Before she could look at it properly, however, she was back at the cave, and she decided she was just being stupid. Why on earth would their have been a picture of her on the table behind that girl?


	5. A Messed Up Evening and a Messed Up Atta

Chapter 5 - A Messed Up Evening and a Messed Up Attack

Leaning against the wall of the kitchen in Charmed, Piper pinched the bridge of her nose to fight off the headache. How could everything have gone so wrong? How could Alyssa have tripped over three times, showering the Hillman party with food? How could the meat she had so carefully cooked to perfection have been frozen on the inside? How had she mistakenly sent out four bottles of the wrong wine, even though she was sure she'd checked the label three times?

A loud beeping noise made her look up in horror, and she felt like crying as thick smoke filled her kitchen. The smoke alarm was working up a frenzy and her staff, even though they were trained to handle such a situation, seemed to be allowing the fire to get bigger.

"Somebody get the extinguisher!" She cried in annoyance.

"We can't find it." Marco, one of her chefs, looked back at her, panic stricken. "Where is it?" He cried.

"What do you mean where is it?!" Piper yelled, and threw her hands out, freezing the place. She stormed over to the fire extinguisher - or at least, where it was supposed to be. Marco was right, it was gone.

"Oh, god..." She muttered, looking around wildly. She searched the entire kitchen, terrified, and finally had to admit it was nowhere. "Mental note, when this is over, fire somebody." She muttered to herself. She moved back into her position, and unfroze everyone.

"Get some water!" She cried angrily, and bounded over to the sink along with Liza, another chef. The two of them filled a bowl each and threw it on the flames. Someone else poured more on, then finally the flames dispersed. Breathless, Piper leaned back against the worktop, waving her arms about, trying to get rid of the smoke.

"Don't open the door." She cried desperately. She already suspected Hillman and his cronies would never set foot in her place again, or send their friends, but there was no reason to make it worse. At this rate, tonight would result in a health inspection. "Open the window." She added, and one of the waitresses obliged.

"How did this happen?" She demanded, unsurprised to see her newest employee, a young chef called Carl, stood by the offending stove with the front of his outfit blackened. Carl was accident prone, but shy and sweet, and she felt bad that she would have to fire him. But she wouldn't get anywhere without making some tough decisions, than this was Carl's forth mistake this week.

"I... It just burst into flames." Carl said meekly. "I don't know what happened, it just..."

"Things don't just burst into flames." Piper snapped in annoyance. She walked over to the stove, aware she was being watched by the entire kitchen, and leaned forward to look at the cooker.

"Why is it on so high?" She demanded. "You were supposed to be boiling the potatoes, not incinerating them." Carl leaned forward too, and his eyes widened.

"I swear, I didn't put it on so high. I swear to you." Piper sighed, and turned to face the rest of the kitchen.

"Did anyone turn it up?" Everyone shook their heads, as Piper knew they would. She knew that Carl had been the only on in this area. She turned to him, feeling awful, and shook her head. "See me after closing, Carl." She sighed, then walked out of the doors to tell Mr. and Mrs. Angelo that they would have to wait another half an hour for their meal.

Once she had apologised three times to the understanding couple, Piper went into her small office, next to the kitchen. She closed the door behind her, before walking over to her desk and picking up her phone.

"Wyatt, hi." She sighed when her eldest son answered the phone. "Is your father home yet?"

"No. He just sent a message that he'll be later. Some kind of magic that went wrong and covered the main hall in purple ooze."

"How late?"

"A couple more hours."

"A couple... Listen, thinks have been going wrong here all night, and we've just had a fire in the kitchen. Conveniently, the fire extinguisher vanished, and the chef swears he didn't turn it up." She wasn't being very clear, but something was clicking in her brain. "I have to sort the kitchen out, and fire my chef, there's no way I can get away."

"Right..."

"It's a big coincidence, isn't it, that your father and I are both being kept later?"

"You think a de-"

"Just orb Chris and Linnie to Paige's. I'll call her and explain, OK? Don't leave until I get there. Send a message to your father, once you get to Paige's, and tell him where you are. Oh, and if I do come over, make me prove -"

"That it's you. Code blue?" He asked, and on the other end of the line, his eyes were wide.

"Code blue." Piper nodded, almost smiling at the jokey name Paige had come up with years ago. "I'll be there as soon as I can, OK? Go, now."

"Bye." Wyatt replied, then there was a click, and Piper re-dialled for her sister's house.

"Paige, listen, the kids are on their way over."

"Why? What's hap - Oh, they've just got here."

"Good." Piper replied. She quickly explained the situation.

"You think a demon was going to go after them?"

"Yes, I do. So, be careful, code blue, and call Phoebe to warn her."

"Got it. Hey, shouldn't you have checked it was me when I answered?" Paige teased.

"Probably. But I'm sure Wyatt will -"

"Hey, Wyatt, you have to make sure I'm really me." Paige called.

"I didn't say that." Piper said, but she could already hear Wyatt testing her sister. "OK, Paige? I have to go."

"Right, bye then."

--

Back at the cave, Ricker had been sat waiting on edge while Prue and the boys reported what they'd seen, but thankfully Prue hadn't had any flashbacks. Yet. He had started to think this was a bad idea after all - but he was demon, he acted before he thought.

"So when are we going after them?" Prue asked. Ricker knew she was annoyed that he was in charge of this whole operation, but she had agreed to it. She could be involved as long as he was in charge.

"Soon. We need a strategy, first."

"A strategy? Here's mine, we go in, we kill, we come out." Prue replied.

"And here's the flaws. We go in, we try to kill, we die." Ricker snapped.

"Every plan has its flaws." Prue replied, giving him an icy glare. "It never bothered you before."

"We've never gone up against a witch who can blow us up with a wave of her hand." Prue paused, and at first he though she was considering his point. Then he saw the look in her eye.

"I think I have." She replied, her face screwed up in concentration. "Did I ever meet these witches?"

"I don't know. Maybe you just heard about them?" Ricker suggested, watching her carefully. The second he was alone, he decided, he's start looking for some kind of way to stop her having these flashbacks.

"Maybe." Prue nodded.

_"Honey, why did you vanquish watermelon?" _Her own voice filled Prue's head, and a face swam in front of her, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't focus on it, she couldn't see it properly. She didn't know who it was.

"What happened?" Ricker said quickly. "Prue? Prue?"

"I... I don't know. I heard myself... why did you vanquish watermelon? What does that mean?"

"I don't know." Ricker said. "Did you see anything?"

"A blurry face... but I don't know who it was. Why does this keep happening?" She cried angrily.

"I don't know." Ricker repeated. "Just try to calm down -"

"Calm down?" She laughed. "I am calm. When are we killing these witches?" She snapped. Ah. She was angry, upset even. And she wanted to kill. That wasn't a good combination."

"Like I said, soon. We need a plan -"

"Screw that." Prue snapped - a second later, she blinked out.

"Damn it." Ricker spat. He spun back round to his boys. "Where did she go?"

"After them." Preston replied. "She went after the witches."

--

Finally, the day was over. She'd had to stay way later than expected - when the Hillman party finally left, after she shouted at the man to stop being so obnoxious, she sacked Carl in her office. He just nodded, told her he understood, then left. Stressed as she was, she managed to tell him how sorry she was before the door closed behind him. Then she cleaned up the kitchen herself, having, of course, yelled at all her staff to just get out before they did anymore damage. Then she sat in her office alone for a while, trying to de-stress, before finally locking up and driving home. She knew Leo had already picked up the kids, and she figured they would all be in bed. Leo was probably waiting up, either in the living room or the kitchen. He'd probably fallen asleep on the couch, she mused as pulled up outside her house. He'd had a long day too.

She fumbled with her key in the lock, trying to be quiet, and of course making more noise than she normally would have. But when she finally stepped into her house, all was quiet. She hung up her jacket and bag, then called out quietly to her husband.

"Leo? Are you awake?" She whispered as she stepped forward. "Leo?"

The shimmer was silent, and at first she didn't realise anyone was behind her. But she'd been a witch for eighteen years now, and she sensed the demon behind her. She took another step forward, trying to pretend she didn't know she was no longer alone, and raised her hands slowly, casually. Then she spun round and tried to freeze.

The freeze didn't work, and had it been any other time she would have tried to blow the demon up before diving for cover and calling for help. But she caught sight of the woman's face and froze.

"Oh my god." Piper whispered. "Leo!" She screamed. "Leo, Leo, Le -" The slap Prue delivered with the back of her hand collided with Piper's left cheek with such force it almost knocked her to the floor. But Prue caught her by the amr, and drove the dagger into her stomach. She let her go, and even as she heard the footsteps running down the stairs, she stood and stared at the witch laid in front of her.

"Prue...?" Piper whispered, gazing into her eyes. Prue took a step back - how did the witch know her name? She should have formed a fireball, finished it off, but the flahsbacks that were hitting her were too strong to allow her to think.

_"Prue?" A small, dark-haired girl was stood in the doorway. "Where's mum?_

_-_

_"Prue!" This time the girl was older, laughing and hitting her with a pillow. There were two of them, she realised, giggling and hitting her, and she was laughing too, and hitting them back._

_-_

_"I mean, it's not like I would actually ask Phoebe." Prue said, and the girl in front of her was older still._

_"So I win by default? Wow, Prue, you really know how to flatter a girl."_

_-_

_"Grams? Grams? Prue! Phoebe! Somebody help!" She was running forward, towards the girl, who was crouched in front of an old woman, who was laid at the bottom of some stairs, unconsious._

_"Oh my god, Grams." She gapsed._

_-_

_"The Book of Shadows said our powers would grow." The other girl, but older, said to her._

_"Grow to what?" She laughed._

-

**_"_**_Prue, I'm cold. I-I-I can't feel my legs." She was laid in front of her, bleeding, she was bleeding, and she was so, so pale._

**_"_**_Pulse is dropping." Someone said. Prue's chest felt tight, she was crying, she could hardly breath._

**_"_**_Don't go. I love you."_

_-_

She heard the footsteps getting closer, and her instincts kicked in. Seconds before Leo reached the bottom of the stairs, she blinked out.


	6. Unbelievable

Chapter 6 - Unbelievable

"Piper!" Leo cried out as he saw her, laid there. "Paige!" He yelled loudly. "Paige!" He dived to his wife's side, gasping as he saw the blood pouring out of her. "Paige!" He screamed again, a fraction of a second before his sister-in-law orbed in.

"What?" She said sleepily, then gasped when she looked down. She crouched down quickly, held her hands over her sister and tried to keep her breathing even as a golden light lit up her hands.

"What happened?" She gasped as the blood slowly retraced it's own path back up from the floor and into the open wound.

"I just found her like. She called out to me..." Finally the wound began to close, and seconds later all trace of it had vanished, even the hole in Piper's shirt. Piper opened her eyes, gasping for breath, and found Leo hugging her tightly.

"Mum!" Linnie cried tearfully, and launched herself onto Piper - Leo hadn't realised the kids had followed him down. "I thought you were dead." Linnie wept. Paige helped her to her feet, then Wyatt and Chris wrapped their arms around her.

"Was it a demon?" Paige asked.

"Uh... No..." Piper murmured. "It... It was Prue..."

"Prue?" Paige and Leo repeated in unison.

"Our sister." Piper whispered.

--

Prue shimmered back into her cave, her hands still blood-stained despite the healing.

"What did you do?" Ricker asked fearfully.

"I... I stabbed her..." Prue murmured.

"Who? Stabbed who?"

"Uh - Uh, Piper. The oldest... Piper..." She couldn't think straight, the memories still fresh in her mind.

"Is she dead?"

"Uh, she was dying when I left. Her husband was coming down the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Perry asked her, and Prue looked down at the blood on her hands.

"I had... a flashback. Lots of flashbacks." She corrected. "I... I think I must have known the witch..." It was more than that, she knew it was more than that, but she couldn't get her head around it.

"We need to kill them fast." Ricker said quickly. When Prue and the boys looked at him strangely, he added quickly; "they'll be making potions as we speak. Here's the plan..."

--

Leo had sat her on the living-room sofa, with a large glass of water, Paige had gotten Phoebe, plus Coop and Henry, in case they were attacked too. Now Coop, Henry, and all nine kids were upstairs in the attic, surrounded by crystals for protection, while Piper tried to convince her sister's and husband what she'd seen.

"I swear, it was her." She said softly. "It was Prue."

"Start from the beginning." Phoebe, sitting on the edge of the coffee table. Leo was on one side of her, Paige on the other, and Piper knew none of them believed her, or at least, they weren't sure whether they did or not.

"Uh, I walkedin, hung my stuff up, called out to Leo -" She glanced at him, silently asking where he'd been.

"I was checking on the kids." He explained quickly. "Linnie had come down for a drink, and I walked her back up.

"If it'd happened a few minutes earlier -" Piper began, wide-eyed.

"It didn't." Phoebe said softly. "Go on."

"Uh, she must have shimmered, or blinked. I didn't hear her, but I sensed her, you know? I took another step forward, then turned around and tried to freeze her. It didn't work. Then I recognised her. I was just so shocked, I was frozen to the spot... we haven't seen her in fifteen years..."

"Then?" Paige prompted.

"Then I screamed for Leo, and she slapped me, with the back of her hand. I fell, but she caught me, and stabbed me. I feel to the floor, said her name, and she just stood there, her eyes wide, shocked, scared. Then I must have passed out..."

"There was no one here when I got down, she must have left already."

"Piper... it can't have been Prue. She... she's dead, she's not a demon." Phoebe said gently.

"It was her, I know it was here." Piper said defiantly. "I saw it in her eyes, when I said her name. But it was like... like she was remembering me, or remembering herself, or something. But it was her." She glanced at Phoebe, then Paige. "I saw our sister." She whispered.

--

"We storm in there, right now." Ricker said. "All of us, fireballs ready. We take them by surprise."

"What if they're expecting us?" Preston asked.

"Right now, she'll be telling the other's what happened." _And try to convince them what she saw ,_he thought uneasily.

"Or she's dead." Prue said. Then suddenly the witches face swam in front of her, pale and lifeless on that hospital table...

"One of them can heal." Ricker replied, shaking his head. "If her husband was coming down the stairs as you left, the witch is still alive. We go, now, like I said." He walked over to the rocky shelf on one wall, took down five athemes, and handed one to each of the boys, then held one out to Prue.

"Are you up to this?" He asked her. "You can stay here, if you want..."

"No, I'm coming." Prue said, taking the atheme. _I know them._ The thought came from nowhere, but it made her shiver. Ricker slid his own atheme into his belt, then looked at them all. "We take them all out. Then we get back here, alive. Failure isn't an option. Ready?"

--

"How could it have happened?" Phoebe said, pacing the room now. "She was dead, we scattered her ashes."

"Her ashes..." Paige repeated. "How do we know they were hers? A demon could have taken her, faked her death?"

"But she's been turned before, we all have, and we always came back."

"We always knew about it before." Piper said. "We knew whoever it was was still alive. We thought Prue was dead... we didn't even look for her..."

"That's not true. How many spells did you try?" Phoebe said. "Call a lost witch, stuff like that? Why did she never come?"

"I don't know, Phoebe! But I know that she's not dead, she's alive, she's out there she tried to kill me! Why won't you believe me?!"

"Because what if it's not her?" Phoebe cried. "What if it isn't, and we actually believed she was alive, we had her back, and we were wrong? I don't think I could lose her all over again." She sank onto a chair, paler, Piper noticed, than she usually was.

"I know." Piper said quietly. "I know."

None of them expected the fireball to crash into the fireplace, but when it did they all reacted. Jumping to their feet, they turned and faced the five people stood in the hallway, and Phoebe nearly fainted when she saw her. Piper was right, it was Prue, she could feel it. Prue, stood in the middle, next to a man demon and three young boys.

"Paige." Piper said quietly, and Paige waved her hand in Leo's direction. As she did so, Leo dissolved into orbs and found himself suddenly safely in the attic. All he could do was listen, and hope they all got out alive.

"Prue." Phoebe murmured. "Oh, god, is it really you?"

Prue hesitated, glanced at Ricker. She wanted to know how they knew her, but he was defiantly avoiding her. Then he threw a fireball at Phoebe. She jumped, levitated six feet in the air and fireball sailed under her. Piper tried to freeze, affected none of them, and instead aimed and explosion. It bounced off Ricker's shoulder, making him step back, but the next second, a knife was flying towards Piper's face. She froze it hurriedly, grabbed it out of the air and threw it back. Ricker dodged it, and it lodged itself in the wall instead.

"Prue, it's us." Phoebe said quickly. "It's us, it's your sisters."

"Sisters?" Prue repeated softly. "Sisters..." Ricker glanced at her anxiously.

"Out." He said quickly. "Out. Home. Now!" The boys obeyed, sending both Prue and Ricker looks as they did so.

"Sisters?" Prue said again, then Ricker grabbed her arm and they were gone, too.

"Now do you believe me?" Piper demanded loudly.


	7. The Truth

Chapter 7 - The Truth

Phoebe was pacing the room, in front of the fireplace, Piper and Leo were on one sofa, Paige and Henry on the other, and Coop was leaning against the fireplace, watching his wife walk. Nine sleepy kids were scattered around the room, Linnie on her mother's lap, Chris next to Leo, and Wyatt on the floor, leaning back against the sofa, while little Henry was sat between his parent, the twins on either side of Henry and Paige. Phoebe's three girls were all squashed into the armchair.

"How do you think it happened?" Paige said finally, breaking the silence that had lasted almost five minutes, after the three sisters had explained.

"He must have kidnapped her while I was out cold." Piper said thoughtfully, her mind taking her back to that day. "He'll have brought the ashes with him, or incinerated something in the room?" She glanced up at Phoebe, who mumbled that she didn't think anything was missing. "Ah, she'll have probably been unconscious, too, I know she was when I passed out. It would have been easy to pick her up and shimmer out with her."

"Why, though?" Henry asked. "Why not just kill the two of you? You were right there in front of him, and you wouldn't have been able to stop him, would you?"

"Maybe he figured turning her evil would be better in the long run." Leo replied. "I mean, sure, you break the Power of Three, kill them, but what are you going to get at the end of it?"

"Glory." Paige suggested. "Demons are trying to kill us every week, for the glory, the power they'll get."

"But even if they did that, got everything they wanted, other demons would start to go after them." Coop said. "Try to take the power, kill him. By turning her, he had power on his side, he could use it."

"Right." Leo agreed. "He faked her death so you wouldn't search for her, took her someplace, probably in the underworld, and turned her."

"And wiped her memory." Piper finished.

"So why send her after us?" Paige asked.

"I don't know. Maybe for some kid of ritual, like the vampires." Piper replied.

"The Vampires?" Henry and Coop repeated in unison.

"That was me." Paige grinned. "I'd almost forgot about that."

"The point is, they wanted Phoebe and I to be your first kill." Piper said.

"Yeah, so I could turn you, and seal the whole thing." Paige replied. "But she's been a demon for fifteen years, she'll have killed loads of times."

"Maybe to get you out of the way." Leo said. "Maybe she was starting to remember bits of her old life... he wouldn't have told her who she really was, what she was, or that she had you guys."

"Why not?" Henry questioned.

"Because somewhere, Prue, the real Prue, the human one, will have been in there, and she would have come home if she'd had known about her family. And if he'd told her she was a powerful witch who killed demons and was feared by the whole underworld, why would hse have wanted to stay living in some cave?"

"So he told her she used to be a mortal?" Coop asked.

"More likely that she was just a weak witch. Make her think she had more power as a demon..."

Piper smiled faintly. "That would have made her stick around. She always liked to be the best."

"Phoebe, are you OK?" Paige asked suddenly, realising the middle sister hadn't spoken during the discussion.

"Fine. I'm fine." Phoebe murmured.

"No, you're not." Coop said.

"No, I'm not." Phoebe replied, a touch of anger in her voice as she stopped pacing and swung round to face the room. "I just saw my big sister, the sister I had thought was dead, and she tried to kill us." Phoebe gave a wry smile. "The first time I've seen her in fifteen years and she hurls a fireball at my head."

"It was actually the guy who did that." Piper replied.

"Same difference. I'm still getting used to the fact that she's still alive... never mind that she's evil and trying to kill us."

"With another demon, and demon-kids." Coop said quietly.

"Do you think they were hers?" Phoebe asked softly. "Her kids?"

"I don't know." Piper said, although the thought had crossed her mind several times. "Maybe. Probably. She always wanted to have kids..."

"Are they going to come back?" Wyatt asked finally. "To kill us?"

"Probably." Piper nodded. "Which means we need to start mixing potions, writing spells, making plans."

"Oh, god." Phoebe breathed.

--

The second they materialized in the cave, Prue pulled away from Ricker and threw her knife at him. He moved just in time and it sailed past him, clattering loudly onto the floor.

"Why did they say I was their sister?!" She screamed at him, even though she knew, deep down she knew.

"Witches - they're witches - they call each other sisters -" Ricker stammered. Preston, Parker, and Perry stood a few feet away, watching with interest.

"Ricker." Prue calmer, quieter, but with an edge to her voice that made her sound deadly.

"That is the truth... they mean sister witch -" He lied.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!!" She screamed. "TELL ME THE TRUTH, I WANT THE TRUTH!!"She lifted up her boot, extracted the knife she always carried in there, then held it out to him, the point just inches away from his throat. "Now."

"The truth?" He sneered. "Why? It's pointless, it's -"

"I need to know." She snapped. "Tell me, Ricker."

"I... you used to... work with them, from time to time." She had heard them, heard the way they'd called her their sister... but she couldn't be, she just couldn't be...

"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" She said. "I... had flashbacks, and they recognised me, and I... I recognised them... I just don't know how." It made her feel so helpless, so out of control, and she always, always, had to be in control.

"If I told you... you might leave us." Ricker said finally. "Me...and the boys." Prue threw a glance in their direction.

"I would never leave them." She replied.

"You might want to go back... to being good, being a witch."

"Never." She replied. "Just tell me...I can handle it..."

"You... you were their sister." He said finally. Although she nodded coolly, although a part of her had already known, she still felt as though her insides had frozen.

"Was I... a Charmed One?" She knew the answer, but she had to hear it from him.

"Yes. You were. I should have told you... but I thought you'd leave us. This is... is your destiny now." He said lamely.

"There are three of them, though. I only remember two."

"After you died, they found the younger one, Paige, I think her name is. She's your half-sister, she's a witch too... and half-whitelighter."

"White-lighter..." She mumbled, and it came back to her, briefly, jumbled. The lake, a demon, her mother, Sam... And it all made sense.

"She took your place... they didn't need you anymore. They beat the source, three times. They did everything they were meant to... you weren't supposed to be a part of it." He gave a moment to think it over, and when she said nothing, he took a small step back. "Are you still on our side?"

"Of course I am." She replied. "They... they're going to come here, after me, to get me back."

"Then we go after them first." Ricker replied, and she nodded.

"Yes, yes we do."


	8. Hard Decisions

Chapter 8 - Hard Decisions

In the attic, Piper was mixing potion, after potion, helped by Leo. Phoebe was making up spells, surrounded by bits of paper, while Coop copied out existing ones, and Paige and Henry were by the old sofa, Henry sat in silence while Paige briefed the kids.

"OK, you are all going to pretty much stay in groups - Wyatt, Chris and Linnie, Prudence, Paris and Phoenix, and Lydia, Sydney and Henry. You can all teleport-"

"Except me." Linnie interrupted.

"But that doesn't matter." Paige said quickly. "You stay with your brothers. You stay together in your groups of three, and you make sure you all get out together, if you are told by me, Piper or Phoebe, you, using your own judgement, think you should leave, or... or Piper, Phoebe or I are killed or knocked out. If that happens, you are to get the rest of the kids and get out of there. Now, this is important, OK? If you are told by Piper, Phoebe or me to leave us alone and get out of there, you do so, with no buts. If, like I said before, one of us if down, you all get out... but you leave us behind."

"No!" Linnie cried.

"Listen, listen. I promise that if Piper or Phoebe get hurt, I will get them out of there, OK? But we have to make sure you guys are safe, and if you have orbed out, to the place where your dads will all be, then we can do that."

"What about if it's you? That gets knocked out?" Wyatt asked nervously. "What then? How will you get out alive?" Paige felt nervous jump in her stomach at the sight of nine scared faces looking at her. She didn't usually get nervous at the thought of demon fights... then again, it wasn't every day she had to fight the so-called dead sister she had never met...

"We managed fine for years and years until we had you guys to help out." Paige pointed out with a shaky, but hopefully reassuring smile.

"What if -" Lydia began, only to be cut of as Piper walked towards them.

"I think this whole thing just proves that Halliwells don't stay dead for long." Piper said softly. "Come on, guys how many times have you lot met your Grandma, and Grams? Do you think that if anything did happen to us, we'd really leave you?"

Linnie was the first to shake her head trustingly, but the others soon followed.

"OK, then. Anymore questions?" Paige asked, and received nine shaking heads.

"Phoebe, we ready?" Piper called, and Phoebe slowly raised her head, and nodded...

--

"Prue, you used to battle with them for hell's sake." Ricker snapped. "Think!"

"I don't know!" Prue snapped back. "I don't remember... I hardly remember anything." She added angrily.

"Well what do you remember?" He asked her angrily.

"Stuff from when we were kids... and my mum dying... my dad... I hate him. He - he left us, he abandoned us. And...and...leaving school... finding out we were witches, some stuff after that, but only bits of it, I don't think we ever had a strategy. We just kinda... went with the flow..."

"That's not good enough!" He snapped. "They have all those little brats now, they'll be more careful, they'll have a plan!"

"Well I don't know it!! I haven't been around them for the last fifteen years, remember? I never even met my nephews and nieces or - or Paige..."

"So? They're not your family anymore."

"I know! I know..."

"You don't need family anymore. You have the boys. And me."

"I know..."

"So, think. Imagine... imagine you were working with them. Imagine you had the boys, you had to keep them safe...?"

"Uh, uh... they'd buddy up." She said suddenly.

"Buddy up?"

"Yeah... you know, like in groups, or pairs. Buddy up the kids. Pairs, threes, I don't know."

"You sure?"

"No! I'm guessing!" Prue cried.

"OK, OK... So, what, we take them out in pairs?"

"No. You'll have to take out the witches first. We'll have to." She corrected quickly. "Kill a kid first, they'll get the others out of there."

"So we let them go and kill the Charmed Ones."

"No. The kids will come after us."

"The kids?" He scoffed. "We can handle a bunch of -"

"No. We can't." Prue said calmly.

"No, we can't." Ricker sighed. "OK, so what's the plan?"

"They'll probably make up a... a kind of cage. Crystals." She screwed up her face in concentration. "I think. So... so they'll try to summon us into a cage. Vanquish us there. We get to them before they can. The attic... the magic stuff is in the attic..."

"OK, that's what we'll do, then." Ricker nodded. "Prue... you know what they're going to do, don't you? They'll try to turn you back to them."

"I can handle it."

"They'll vanquish me and the boys. Then they'll be all you have."

"They kill my boys and I'll kill them before they can say a word." Prue replied evenly. "Are we ready?"

--

Phoebe gathered up her pieces of paper and walked over to her sisters and the others.

"What do you have?" Piper asked.

"I have a spell to hide us from them, so they can't see us but we can see each other, one to vanquish that demon - or it should. The man. One to make them go back to where ever we summoned them from, in case we can't handle them. And of course, the summoning spell."

"Good." Paige nodded. "Piper? Potions?"

Piper had finished setting the little glass bottles on the table in front of her.

"We all get one of each." She said. "The green one is a smoke screen. The blue one traps them in a kind of bubble, in case they get out of the cage. The yellow one is to transport us non-orbers to somewhere else, you have to smash it at your feet and think where you want to go. Those who can orb don't get these, those who can't get two each, so they can get somewhere else if they need to, or get back here. The purplish ones are power striping, that will last about an hour and they're the ones we want to use."

"And the red ones?" Phoebe asked.

"The red ones... are vanquishing ones."

"There's more than one each." Phoebe replied.

"I know. We get two each. OK... we want to vanquish the guy demon, but... those boys could be Prue's sons. We want to keep them and her alive. But if you have to... you throw the red one at their feet. Vanquish them -"

"What!" Phoebe cried. "Are you crazy? We can't vanquish Prue!"

"Phoebe, we might have to." Piper said.

"She is our sister. We can't vanquish our sister."

"It's us or her, Phoebe." Piper replied.

"We already lost her once. I'm not going to kill her."

"It's a last resort." Piper said. "But you can't act as though she didn't try to kill us, as though she won't. Best thing I can think of is to strip their powers, trap them in the bubbles, and talk to her. But if we have to -"

"I won't throw that potion at my big sister." Phoebe said flatly.

"I don't want to either." Piper replied. "But if it comes down to her or us, I will."

"We can't..."

"We can't stand back and let her kill us and our kids." Paige said. Glancing sideways at her, Piper saw tears glistening in Paige's eyes.

"This is hard for us all." Piper said. "But we have to do what we have to do. I will throw that potion if I have to."


	9. Face To Face

Dun dun dun! The Big Face off! Or the first part of it anyway. Not sure how much sense it makes, but if you give me lots of reviews I'll update it real fast…

Chapter 9 - Face to Face

The sisters stood a foot or so in front of the kids, Leo, Henry and Coop already sent off to magic school, where they were safe.

"OK, kids. What's the plan?" Piper said, trying to sound confident, but with an unmistakable tremor in her voice.

"Strip their powers." They recited.

"And we want to...?" Phoebe added.

"Get aunt Prue back."

"Are we ready?" Paige asked, smiling in spite of the whole situation, as nine heads nodded vigorously. This was big, but the kids were acting like it was a military operation.

"OK..." Phoebe held the summoning spell up so she and her sisters could read it...

--

"If you feel you have to leave, just leave." Prue said to her boys.

"Don't leave." Ricker snapped. "We kill the witches -"

"Or die trying?" Prue frowned.

"Yes." Ricker said. Prue glared at him before turning back to Preston, Parker, and Perry.

"Don't listen to him. You need to get out, get out. Come back here, and if we're not back in a few hours, you find Louian."

"Louian?" Ricker said sharply. Ignoring him, Prue continued talking to her boys.

"I told him we were planning on a big fight, and that we might not all make it. He agreed to take you in and train you up if he needs to."

"Prue -" Ricker interrupted. She spun round to face him, glared at him coldly.

"I'm not talking to you right now." She told him. "We can argue if we survive this."

"If?"

"Don't." She warned him, then turned back to the boys. "We'll go in together." She said, then reached out for Perry's arm.

"I can shimmer in alone." Preston said, his eyebrows raised. "I'm a big boy now, mum."

"Demon. You're a demon." Ricker snapped.

"Preston." Prue snapped. Parker had already gripped Perry's arm, so she took hold of Preston's. "We go in together, or not at all." He didn't pull away, just looked up at Ricker. Prue purposely avoided his eyes. "One... Two... Three..." She blinked and as the boys shimmered, and the next thing she knew, she was in an all too familiar room...

A loud piercing scream rang out - Phoenix had seen them. Piper, Phoebe and Paige spun around, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Then Preston threw a fireball into the small crowd, and a flurry of movement followed.

"Wyatt!" Piper yelled, and Wyatt grabbed Chris and Linnie, and orbed them behind Prue, Ricker and her boys, while Lydia and Sydney grabbed Henry and orbed over to Paige. Phoebe's girls teleported together and ended up near the window. Preston hurled another fireball over to Prudence, Paris and Phoenix. Just in time Prudence pulled her sisters to the floor and the fireball sailed past them and hit the wall.

"Leave them alone!" Paige cried out as Parker sent a fireball towards her and her kids. Henry sent up a transparent green force-field just in time, and the fireball bounded backwards.

"Your fight is with us, not them." Phoebe said.

"Our fight is with all of you." Ricker snarled. Prue had been watching in silence, taking in the faces of her sisters, and he nephews and nieces...

"Prue, please..." Phoebe said. For a moment, Prue forgot what she had become, the demon she now was, and remembered who she used to be... but the demon in her picked up the weakness in Phoebe's voice, and she smirked.

"Don't beg, witch. It's not the dignified way to die." While Ricker let out a relieved breath, Phoebe stumbled back in horror.

Piper looked at Prue, at the woman she had once admired, loved, and realised that her big sister wasn't perfect, like she always thought. Prue wasn't the strongest, not really.

No one was perfect. Not even her.

Paige was the first one to react - raising her arm and throwing the power stripping potion at Prue. It smashed at Prue's feet, and a wispy cloud of purple smoke rose into the air and into Prue's mouth.

Instantly, everyone else snapped into action, and the air was filled with flying bottles, the sound of smashing glass, and multicoloured smoke. While Wyatt, Henry and Phoenix threw the purple power-stripping, taking away the powers of Ricker, Preston, Parker and Perry, Chris, Linnie, Lydia, Sydney and Prudence threw the blue ones, and individual transparent blue bubbles sprang up around Prue, Ricker, and the boys.

"What have they done?" Ricker snapped, looking over at Prue. "How do we get out of here?"

"I... I don't know." Prue murmured. She could barely think straight, her head filled with memories that were tormenting her. Childhood memories, adult memories, all jumbled up and running into each other.

"Prue! Think!" He yelled at her.

"You, Shh." Piper snapped at Ricker. "Kids..." Obediently, the nine of them orbed or teleported over, and stood around the sisters.

"OK, we can do this one way or the other." Piper said, still talking to Ricker. She lifted up a small red bottle. "I have enough of these to vanquish the lot of you." She threw a glance in Prue's direction. "But I don't want to, for obvious reasons. However, if I need to, I will."

"At your own sister?" Ricker sneered.

Piper looked at Prue, right in her light blue eyes. How had she never noticed before how cold her sisters eyes were? How the icy blue seemed so empty, how emotionless she was. Had it always been that way?

"You know I will." She said flatly. Slowly, Prue nodded. She did, she knew.

"So, you. Mister demon." Piper said. "First of all, I want to know exactly how you stole our sister away, and what you did to her."

"I don't make small talk with witches." Ricker snarled. Prue glanced over at him, reluctantly desperate to know, too.

"Then I may as well just throw this now." Piper shrugged, and raised her hand.

"No!" Ricker cried, and Piper stopped, her hand still in the air. "No." He looked pointedly at Prue, and she knew he wanted her to try and think of a way out of this. She gave a small nod, but as soon as he started talking, she couldn't focus on anything other than what he was saying.

"I - It was easy, really." He said, a note of pride in his voice. "All I had to do was wait until the sources assassin had knocked you both out. Then I just took her." He grinned.

"How did you turn her?" Paige asked.

"An old dark-magic ritual." Ricker replied. "Not a lot of demons know about it, but I found the instructions years ago."

"So you decided to turn Prue?"

"Any of the Charmed Ones really." Ricker shrugged. "I'd been waiting for over a year, watching you, waiting. But I knew that Phoebe had a demon boyfdriend, who'd be able to find her, and you had the whitelighter, so she was my first choice."

"Who, though?" Phoebe interrupted. "Why one of us?"

"The most powerful witches to exist." Ricker said simply, and Prue glared at him. All these years he had told her how weak she'd been, how alone, and now... now it turned out she was one of the most powerfull witches to exist... not to mention she had family.

"You took our sister away." Phoebe said, and when Prue looked at her, she saw tears in her eyes. "You took her away and we thought she was dead..."

It hit Prue with the force of a thunderbolt. They did love her, they did need her...

But she couldn't go back. For fifteen years she'd been a demon, and she could barely remember before that. She didn't know what she used to be, only what she was now. And she was too scared to start again, as good, as human.

Because just from the brief little memories, she knew that humanity hurt.


	10. The Unimaginable Battle

Chapter 10 - The Unimaginable Battle

Ricker glanced at Prue, and she knew she was supposed to be thinking of a way out of these bubbles. She didn't care what happened to Ricker - the best think he had ever done was give her the boys. She didn't love him, never had... and now, she realised, she despised him.

If they made it out of here alive, she might just kill him herself.

"So what now?" Preston asked suddenly, glaring at his aunts and cousins. "Are you going to kill us?"

"Well, that depends." Phoebe replied, her eyes still teary but her voice strong.

"On?" Preston snarled, looking so much like his father that Prue shuddered.

"On Prue." Piper replied, looking back at her big sister. "So, Prue, are they your sons?"

"Yes." Prue said, and although Piper's face didn't change, Prue noticed the way her eyes slid over to the boys, and the way her eyes sparkled at them. In her eyes, Prue realised, they were her nephews. For some reason that made her feel better... only she didn't know why.

"What do you mean, it depends on me?" Prue said after a while.

"We don't want to vanquish you, or them." Paige said quietly.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you!" Prue yelled suddenly. "I don't even know you!" She resented Paige, she realised. Paige had taken her place. They didn't need her because of Paige.

Angry, Prue conjured up a fireball and hurled it in Paige's direction, forgetting how she was trapped. The fireball bounced back and hit her on the arm. Prue gasped in pain, and Phoebe took a worried step forward before she remembered.

"Are you OK?" Phoebe asked, trying to keep her voice cool.

"Like you care." Prue spat back, ignoring the fierce pain in her arm. The skin had turned red, started to peel a little.

"Prue, Paige hasn't taken your place." Piper said, almost in annoyance. "She's our sister, and she's her own person. She has her own place."

"Yours is still open." Paige added, trying to pretend Prue's words hadn't hurt her.

"Well it can stay open." Prue snapped. "I don't want it."

"Prue, listen to me. This isn't you. You're not evil." Phoebe said. "You had your moments, but you were always good. You can fight this, you're stronger than his magic. You can come home."

"I can't." Prue said quietly, even though a big part of her wanted to. This is me now. I can't go back."

"You can. Please, Prue." Phoebe pleaded.

Paige watched the flicker of hope in Prue's eyes, saw the longing behind the cold. And, going on the instinct that made her such a good witch, she put all their lives at risk.

She stepped forward, and brushed a finger on the bubble that surrounded Prue. It vanished immediately.

"Kill her Prue, kill her!" Ricker cried.

"Paige!" Phoebe screamed, and was about to throw her own bubble potion when Piper gripped her arm. She silently shook her head, then turned back to Prue and Paige.

"You have every right to be scared." Paige said softly. "I would be too. I was. Fifteen years ago, I found out that I wasn't really who I thought I was. I wasn't Paige Matthews, who just worked as an assistant. I was actually a witch, a charmed one. I wasn't an only child, I had sisters. Everything changed, overnight. And I was terrified. Terrified I wouldn't live up to what they expected. To you. And you must feel like I did all those years ago, right? You don't know if you'll live up to the person you used to be."

Silently, Prue nodded.

"I learned, though, Prue, I learned that they didn't actually expect me to be anything. They were fine with me just being me, and in my own time I settled, and I realised that it wasn't that much of a change. I was still the same person. And so are you. No matter what he's done to you, how many rituals, you are still you. Deep down. And that person will always be there. And you... if you want, you can be just Prue. Not Prue, the super demon, or Prue, the super witch. You can be whatever you want. But you have to choose."

"My boys..." Prue mumbled.

"Prue, don't listen to her. Just kill her. Kill them!" Ricker cried desperately.

"The boys are a part of you." Piper said quietly. "They're a part of this family. There's room for them, too."

"I thought you'd hate me." Prue mumbled. "I tried to kill you."

"How could we hate you?" Phoebe murmured. "We love you. Just... come home..."

Prue looked at them for a long time, long enough so that all doubt vanished. This was home, Phoebe was right. This was home. Tears made their way down her face. She hadn't cried in fifteen years, but she couldn't stop.

"I... I need to ask my boys." Prue said quietly, brushing the tears away. More took their place.

"No!" Ricker yelled. "Don't listen to them, Prue, just ignore them! They - they're tricking you, they'll kill you and the boys, and me!"

"They won't kill you, Ricker." Prue sneered. "I will." That silenced him.

Prue stepped over to her boys, stood in front of them.

"You understand, don't you?" She murmured. "This is my family, my home. Your family, too. I...I know it'll be different, but we can do it. You'll still have your powers... only now, you'll be fighting demons instead of witches..."

"But we _are _demons." Preston cried. "We're not witches!"

"You are... half demons." Prue corrected. "And half-witches. My half."

"We're still demons. We can't be good." Preston snapped.

"You can. I... I know it's scary, I'm scared too, but I'll be here, for you. Just... stay with me..."

"What if we don't want to?" Preston challenged. "What if we want to stay evil?"

"I..." Prue faltered, glanced behind her at her sisters. Piper gave a small nod, and Prue turned back to them. "Then I'll go back down there with you, and stay with you. I meant what I said about not leaving you."

"You mean it?" Parker asked, and although her heart sunk, although the disappointment overwhelmed her, she nodded.

"I promise."

"Then I'll stay up here with you." Parker said. "We can give it a try, being good. I'll come with you."

"Really?" Prue gasped, her eyes shining with hope. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, this place is warmer than the cave." Parker smiled.

"I don't believe you!" Preston cried. "The cave is our home, the underworld is where we belong!"

"Preston..." Prue said softly. "We can belong here too..."

"I'll live here too, mum." Perry said after a brief hesitation. He was nine, wouldn't leave his mum. He could be good, too, if he had to.

"Are you sure?" Prue asked for the second time, and Perry nodded. She looked again at Preston.

"No." The eldest said firmly. "I won't."

"Preston-"

"I won't do it." He said again. "I _like _being a demon, I'm good at it. I wont give it up, or my powers."

"Your powers?"

"They'll bind them, for sure." He replied. "Won't want to risk us killing their little darlings, will they? What about us, huh? What if we need to defend ourselves? Like they care."

"We wouldn't take away your powers." Piper frowned. "Not unless you wanted us to."

"Sure you wouldn't." Preston snapped. "I won't do it, mum." He said, looking her right in the eye. "I'd rather you vanquish me."

"I wouldn't ever vanquish you." Prue whispered.

"Ha! Course you would. If _they _said you had to, you would."

"I wouldn't. I... love you." For a moment, he just looked at her, then he shook her head.

"I don't care..." He said quietly. "Demons... don't love."

"Please..."

"No. I want to go home." Preston said, and for a moment, Prue was reminded of how he was when he was little boy, all wide-eyed at the blood on his mothers clothes, at the lifeless body on the floor. She'd killed the woman purely to show her son how to do it. At the time, he had been just two, and Ricker had decided it was time her learned what his powers could actually do. Little Preston had been terrified, and spoke those very words. _No, I want to go home._

But now it was too late. It had been too long for him, and now he was perfectly at home killing witches. Innocents. They had once mattered to her so much, she remembered. And they could again.

"This is home." Prue said finally, but he shook his head.

"Either let me go, or vanquish me."

"I won't vanquish you." Prue said firmly.

"Then let me go."

"I'm going to vanquish Ricker." Prue said to Preston, and beside him, Ricker gave a little yelp. "You can't go down there alone."

"I'll go to Louian. That's what you told us to do."

"But..." _I made him this. I made him what he is, and now I can't stop him. _"OK." She nodded. "But, promise me, that if you ever change your mind, you won't hesitate." The tears were thicker, now, faster.

"Sure."

"And if you ever need help, you come straight here, no matter what. You don't even have to stay..."

"OK."

"And... Swear to me, that you'll never come here to kill us. Any of us."

"I swear." Preston nodded.

"OK. OK." Prue turned back to the others. "How do I...?" Piper stepped forward, gently touched the bubble encasing Perry. It sank away, and the young boy stood uncertainly.

"Like that." Piper murmured. Prue gently touched the bubble surrounding Parker, and that vanished too. Then she slowly stretched out her hand to Preston's. She was going to lose her boy, going to lose him. When her hand was just a centimetre from the sky-blue surface, she mouthed the words "I love you". Then she placed her full left hand on the bubble. It vanished, but she kept her hand there.

"You too." Preston said quietly, so quietly she almost didn't hear it. But she heard it, and she understood.

Then, his eyes locked on hers, he shimmered out without another word, and Prue's hand dropped limply to her side.


	11. Lost Souls

Chapter 11- Lost Souls

Prue stared at the empty space for a few seconds, unable to think, as though her mind was surrounded by fog. After a moment or two, however, a few thoughts made their way through. Preston was gone. She had sisters, a huge family. She wasn't evil anymore - at least, she didn't think so. Preston was gone.

As the first thought hit her again, one thing became clear. Ricker. This was all his fault. She had lost her son because of him.

Angrily, she spun round to face him, where he stood still trapped in his bubble.

"This is your fault!" She yelled. "It's all your fault!!"

"You were the one that turned _good._" Ricker sneered, but he was unable to hide the fear in his eyes, the faint whimper in his voice. "You made him leave."

"You. You did this." Prue said, shaking her head, even though she knew that really, he was right... it was her fault. "I'm going to kill you." She stated, as calm and casual as someone stating the time. Ricker's eyes widened, and he shrank away from her.

"No... Prue, don't do that. I know you're angry, but you wont kill me."

"Just watch me."

"No, no, uh, honey. Come on, how about we go back down to the underworld, find Preston, and act like this never happened."

"That isn't going to happen." Prue snapped.

"Come on, Prue. We're a team." Ricker simpered. "We belong together... I love you."

"You don't love, Ricker." Prue gave a hollow laugh. "You are the most pathetic excuse for a demon, but you still don't love." Only then did she realise tears were still on her face. And, looking down at her hands, she saw the faint traces of Piper's blood on her hands... at it really only been a few hours ago that she had stabbed her, oblivious to who she really was?

"Prue-"

"Shut up!" Prue yelled suddenly. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!!" She threw a fireball at him, but it just bounced back off the bubble. She let out an angry cry, then spun round to face her sisters.

At some point during the last few minutes, the kids had made the way back over to their parents, and now each of the charmed ones stood with their arms wrapped around their kids.

Would Prue ever even see Preston again?

"Can he still shimmer?" She asked shakily, and Piper shook her head.

"His powers are gone."

Prue turned back to Ricker, punch the bubble with all her force, and it vanished. Then she hurled another fireball at him. It hit him square in the chest, but it wasn't enough to kill him.

"Potion!" Prue snapped. "I want the potion! Now!"

"Prue -" Phoebe said carefully.

"Now!" Piper tossed the bottle of red liquid forward, and Phoebe cried out, realising the potion could still vanquish Prue or her sons. But Prue caught it, and turned around to face Ricker.

"Prue, the boys." Paige said quickly. "It could kill the boys."

"Stand back." Prue commanded, and, emotionlessly, Parker and Perry took a few steps backwards.

"It might still kill you." Piper added.

"I don't care." Prue muttered, and, looking Ricker right in the eye, she hurled it at him.

He screamed, of course. He had begged for his life, and it didn't surprise her that he screamed like that.

"Goodbye." She said cheerfully. Then her eyes narrowed. "Save me a place in hell."

And then, with a small, almost pathetic, bang, Ricker was gone.

Piper stepped forward, rested her elbow on Prue's shoulder. "Welcome home, sis." Smiling, Prue turned around.

"Hey." She murmured.

----

The ritual was simple. All Prue had to do was hold her sisters hands, say a few forengn sounding words, and hold a big white candle for a few seconds. And then Ricker's magic was reversed. It was that simple... and all Phoebe could think of was how easy it would have been to bring Prue home all those years ago, if only they had known...

The

Less than an hour later, Prue was sat in an armchair in the living room. It had been so long since she had sat here... and it was different now. New furniture. The armchair she was sat on, she had never seen before. And on the table behind the sofa, more photo's were looking out at her. Photo's of her family, and the life they had had without her.

They had talked so much in the time since she had vanquished Ricker, that she now knew every little detail of her sisters lives. Piper's resutrant. selling P3. What had happened to Cole. Wyatt's birth. How some future whitelight had come back from the future, who turned out to be Chris. How Phoebe had met Coop.

How they had met Paige.

She didn't know the woman properly yet, but she had an instant liking for her.

"Who was this Louis guy?" Phoebe asked suddenly. "The one Preston said he was going to?"

"Oh. Louian." Prue corrected. "He's just an old... assosiate. The closest thing a demon could have to a friend, I guess. Right after I became a demon, he helped me out." At her sisters questioning glances, she sighed. "I... got a little freaked out." She mumbled. "Ricker had taken me to kill my first witch..." She looked guitily at the floor. "I'd been watching him do it for a month or so, and it hadn't bothered me. But when I - I threw a fireball at her. It didn't kill her... my aim was a little off. It scolded all her shoulder, and she was screaming... and I felt... powerful." she was barely audiable now, like a child confessing to a guilty secret. "She was - was backed up against the wall, screaming in pain, and, and fear, and Ricker handed me a knife. I just... just walked up to her, and... I killed her." Phoebe gave a small gasp, quickly stifled. "I flet the blade slide into her, and I pushed it into her heart... just like he'd taught me to. I felt the life slip out of her, and her blood covered my hands, my shirt, and I felt so... evil.It scared me, I knew, I knew that wasn't me. And I just ran. Well... I blinked." She was still getting used to the fact that she didn't have her demon powers anymore, only her witch ones.

"And Louian...?" Piper prompted.

"I blinked into the underworld." Prue continued. "I didn't know where exactly... I'd never blinked alone before. Back in the early days, I was completly dependent on Ricker. I had no memories, no sense of myself. It was scary and new... but exiting. Anyway, and just stood there and... and I screamed, I was screaming. And Louian came along and threw a fireball at me."

"What?" Phoebe cried, and Prue smirked.

"It shut me up. I don't know if he meant to kill me or not... he probably did. But it shut me up, and calmed me down. He asked me why I was there, why I was screaming, and I told him." She smiled wryly. "I guess I'd forgotton Ricker's lesson on not trusting demons I didn't know."

"Or our lesson on not trusting demons, period." Piper added.

"Yeah. Anyway, he told me to get over it, that instead of getting upset over it, I should concentrate on that feeling, the evil, and it would make me stronger. And he was right. Ever since then he's been kinda of a friend. The boys know him well, and I know I can trust him. Demon trust, I mean. I told the boys that if Ricker and I were killed, that's where they should go. He'll take Preston in, and look after him, and train him up."

"No, he wont. Because we're going to get him back." Paige replied.

"We can't, unless he wants to."

"Prue, he's just a kid, and your his mum. Sure he wants to come back."

"Paige... do you think you could call one of the elders down here?" Phoebe asked after a while. "Maybe they can help, or.. well, they probably have something to say."

"They always do." Piper snorted. Prue grinned - somethings never changed, and Piper's dislike of the elders were one of them.

"Ah, sure." Paige replied. She closed her eyes, concentrating hard. A few seconds later, the female elder, Sandra, who was pretty much the only elder they got on well with, kinda, appeared in a range of orbs.

"Paige, I was in a meet- Ah." Sandra looked at Prue. "Well, hello, Prudence."

"Uh, hi." Prue mumbled.

"We thought we should tell you -" Paige began.

"We already new. The meeting was about this... about what we should do with Prudence next."

"Do with her?" Piper repeated.

"I kinda thought there'd be some kind of new power... power of four type thing." Paige shrugged.

"No... there is no such thing." The elder said appologetically. "I'm sorry... but we need to consider this porperly. There is no place for Prue in the Charmed cirlce..."


	12. Out of Place

Chapter 12 - Out of Place

"The hell there isn't!" Piper cried.

"Piper, please-"

"Of course there's room for her. She's a Charmed One." Phoebe snapped.

"She _was_ a Charmed One." The elder corrected. "But she isn't anymore."

"Why can't we do a new power?" Phoebe demanded. "A power of four thing, like Paige said?"

"Because there is no such thing." the elder sighed.

"So.. so that's it then." Paige said quietly. "Prue's back... so I'm out?" It was her biggest fear. The one she thought she was over... but really, she wasn't.

"What?" Piper asked, looking at her.

"Well... Prue was the real Charmed One... and now you don't need me, right?"

"What? Paige, don't be so ridiculous. You're our sister, and your a Charmed One. Nothing could change that." Piper said sharply. "You know that."

"And so does Prue." Phoebe said. "She wouldn't take your place."

"Bu..."

"Look... I take it Prue hasn't tried to use her powers?" Sandra interrupted, looking directly at Prue, who shook her head nervously.

"I didn't think so." Sandra sighed again. "I don't like to be the barer of bad news... but Prue, you don't have any powers anymore."

"What?" Piper cried.

"I do!" Prue cried in disbelief. "Of course I do!" To prove it, she stared hard at one of the photo's on the edge of the table by sofa. It was a picture of Wyatt, as a baby, with her father, and she concentrated sending it flying from the table... but it didn't move at all. It didn't even shake.

Her eyes wide and wild, she tried to astro-project. It was strange that although she couldn't remember the first thirty years of her life properly, she knew exactly how to trigger her power.

Only, that too didn't work.

"Why... why don't I have any powers?" She asked desperately.

"We think it was because of the ritual Ricker performed." The elder explained. "It... deleted, if you like, your original powers. Stripped them from you, and replaced them."

"But we reversed it..."

"But your powers are gone. Permanently." Sandra said apologetically.

"But... they can't be..."

"I'm sorry. But they are." Sandra replied. "Which means that we have to decide what to do next..."

"Do next?" Prue repeated.

"Well... you're mortal now. And... well, it's not safe for you to be here, where demons will be attacking you. You can't protect yourself."

"We can protect her." Piper said.

"No, you can't. Look, I'll be straight with you. Something might - might - be about to happen. Something big."

"I thought we were done with that." Paige sighed.

"So did we. But having Prue here, trying to protect her, will distract you. You could all end up dead." She added meaningfully.

"So what do you want us to do?" Phoebe asked.

"We haven't decided yet." Sandra said, sure she'd already mentioned this. "But we were thinking of taking Prue up there, until it's all over.

"What? But we've only just got her back!" Piper cried.

"I know... but we need to keep her protected."

"Can't you... give her some powers? A way to defend herself?" Phoebe asked.

"No... it doesn't work like that. Prue... isn't meant to have magic anymore." Sandra said.

"Then I may have well just stayed a demon!!" Prue yelled. "Why did you let them turn me back? In fact, while we're on the subject, why did you let it happen anyway? I thought you were all seeing, all knowing? What do you lot do up there, watching down on all humanity, telling us what we can and can't do?"

"Prue-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Prue cried. "Why didn't you stop this, all of it? Stop him taking me, stop me from going evil, killing all those innocents - and losing my son! Does it give you some kind of kick to watch us suffer?" Without even thinking, she had raised her hand into the air and thrown it forwards, as though hurling a fireball.

Which, if she had had her demon powers still, she would have done.

She slowly looked down at her hand, then realised what she had done... she had tried to kill an elder. Well, not technically, she supposed... but she had wanted to...

"Prue..." Piper breathed, and she knew that Piper, too, had figured out what she had been trying to do.

"We didn't know what was happening." The elder said finally, ignoring the last few seconds. "If we had, we would have done anything we could to stop it-"

"It's not good enough." Prue said coldly. "You let him take me away, and now you want to do that same."


	13. Far Away From Home

Chapter 13 - Far Away From Home...

"Preston?" Louian had cried when he had orbed into the demons cave. "Preston..."

"Uh, hi." Preston mumbled, trying his hardest not to look upset. He was upset, of course he was... he had just lost his family, and he had never been so alone. But demons weren't meant to get sad, and he was a demon. Not matter what his mother had said.

"Oh, no. Your mother...?"

"She's fine. I mean, she's alive."

"Then why are you-?"

"She went back. Back to the good side."

"What? How?" Louian gaped, moving closer to Preston. "How?"

Preston explained the best he could, and by the end of the story, Louian was wide eyed.

"Prue? A Charmed One? Really? Well, I never. There were... rumours. Just a few, early on. But... well, now I think about it, it must have been Ricker who vanquished those demons."

"Probably." Preston nodded, trying to get the image of his mother, just before he left her, out of his head. She looked so... Weak. Vulnerable. Human.

"And Ricker? Is he dead?"

"Probably. She said she was going to kill him. He'll be long gone by now."

"And Parker and Perry chose to stay with her... well, I can hardly believe it..."

"Mum said... that if anything was to happen to her and dad, then we had to come to you, and you'd look after us..." Preston said awkwardly.

"Yes. I told her I would. She asked me yesterday, told me she was going into a big fight... but she never said the Charmed Ones... But don't worry. I said I'd look after you, and I will."

"I just need you to train me a bit." Preston shrugged. "I know the basics, and how to kill. Da- Ricker said that I needed to work on my defence more. He was going to teach me."

"I can teach you that." Louian nodded. "And you can stay here with me -"

"I can live at our cave."

"Alone?"

"I'll be fine."

"No, I wont let you." Louian shook his head. "As soon as word gets round that Ricker and Prue aren't around anymore, demons will be swarming the place."

"For what?"

"Anything. It's... kind of a novelty. A lot of our kind thought of your parents to be the most powerful since the source. But they wouldn't think twice about killing you, just for the fun of it. Or the glory, maybe. No, it's safer here. I told your mother I would keep an eye on you, and I will do."

"OK."

"So, how angry are you right now?" Louian grinned. Preston blinked uncertainly, as he was more upset than angry. But, too proud to admit this, he just forced his most evil smirk.

"Angry enough to kill."

"Then that's what we'll do." Louian said, and he gripped Preston's shoulder and shimmered them out...

-----

Only a few minutes after Prue's rant, Sandra had been called back up there... and just seconds later, returned.

"Prue, I want to take you away for your own safety." Sandra sighed. "You and your boys are in danger down here... if we take you up there, we may be able to get your powers back, somehow. And if not, we could train you to protect yourself..."

"You said you couldn't get our powers back." Prue snapped.

"I don't know either way. But we can try, at least. Just until your sisters have overcome this... threat."

Prue looked thoughtful for a few minutes, while her sisters remained silent. Then, finally, she turned to her boys and spoke.

"Would it be OK with you if we went... somewhere? Somewhere safe?"

"Whatever." Parker nodded. He was playing with the remote control for the TV, she realised. Twisting it around and pressing buttons and looking at it in amazement. Perry was inspecting a stuffed caterpillar that had been on the floor. They hadn't even known stuff like this existed, she realised.

This change could be good for them.

Perry gave a brief nod, then went back to pulling at the beady eyes on the caterpillar.

"Then... then I guess we could go..." Prue murmured. "Where - where exactly...?"

"Up there." The elder said softly.

"OK...OK, we'll go..."

"But you've only just come home." Phoebe said, sounding much younger than she actually was.

"I know... but I'll be back." Prue mumbled. "I... I promise." She glanced up at the Elder.

"What if, if this thing doesn't happen?"

"Give it... a month. If nothing's happened, we'll send you back down." The Elder said. "I promise."

"Can I... come and see them? In a couple of days?"

"Maybe." Sandra said. "I don't know."

"OK..." Prue murmured. She felt strangely nervous, scared almost. She looked at all the faces before her... her sisters and brothers-in-law, her nephews and nieces. Only three of which she new. And it could still be a whole month before she met them...

"Prue... It's best if we go now..." Sandra said softly.

"Oh. OK." Prue felt as though she be packing a bag or something... but she had nothing. "Ah... Parker, Perry..."

"Can't she stay for just an hour more?" Phoebe pleaded. "She hasn't even met everyone..."

"I... An hour." Sandra nodded.

"It'll take that long to introduce them all." Prue said quietly. She was nervous about meeting them, too. Would her nephews and nieces be scared of her? Would they hate her?

"No it wont." Phoebe siad brightly. "OK, this is Coop. He's a cupid."

"You told me." Prue mumbled. She had been briefly introduced to her brothers-in-law, after the ritual.

"Yeah. Well, see, about, um, eleven years ago, he was sent by the elders to help me fall in love. But really, they wanted me to fall in love with him." Phoebe smiled. "And I did."

"Hiya, Coop." Prue mumbled, and stuck her hand out awkwardly. Coop shook it, then titled his head.

"Don't analyze her, honey." Phoebe murmured.

"Hi, Prue." Coop said, and Prue wondered how exactly he was analyzing her. Andy, maybe? She only had brief memories, still, but she knew what had happened to him... she knew she hadn't really gotten over it...

"And these are our daughters." Phoebe beamed, pulling three sleepy looking girls towards her. "Prudence - after you, of course - Paris, where we honeymooned and Phoenix... all the things this family have been through..." Phoebe trailed off, then smiled brightly. "Girls, this is your auntie Prue."

Auntie Prue. The words were foreign to her, and yet, she liked them...


	14. Searching for Signs

Btw, Prue's sons all have the same powers - shimmer, invisibly and fireballs. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Chapter 14 - Searching for Signs

"OK. We're ready." Prue murmured, an hour later.

"Look after them." Piper said softly.

"Of course." Sandra said.

"Be careful, guys." Prue said, trying to hide how disappointed she was... she would give almost anything to be staying down here with them, working out how to fight the latest big evil. But instead, she took hold over her sons arms.

"Well, bye." She added.

"Bye." Everyone chorused. Then Sandra took hold of Parker and Perry's free hands, and orbed them away...

For a moment, just a moment, they all simply stared at the empty space. Then Piper began to speak.

"Kids, bed, all of you." She said. "Henry, Coop, you can get them all upstairs, and figure out where they're all going to sleep - they can top and tail, and some of them can have mine and Leo's bed - Leo, will you get the crystals and put them in the corners of all the bedrooms?"

"Sure." Leo gave her a brief kiss before going up the stairs, knowing how much it hurt her to not be with Prue right now. Coop, who had had his arm around Phoebe, gave a her a one-armed kind of hug, before telling the kids to get up.

"Are you OK?" Henry asked Paige quietly. She nodded, forced a smile.

"It's just weird, seeing her. I'd kinda... giving up hope of ever meeting her... and for a while there, I was sure I was out..."

"You should have known they'd never have done that." Henry murmured.

"I know. I did... but a part of me didn't."

"Henry?" Coop said, from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah. Sure." Henry nodded. "Be careful." He said, once he'd turned back to Paige.

"I will." She promised, and he jogged after Coop and the kids.

"OK, girls, we are going to start looking for this demon." Piper said. "The sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner she gets back."

It was still strange to think that Prue was alive... that someday, she might actually be living in the manor again...

And, of course, she couldn't forget her new nephews.

Slowly, they walked up to the attic, and Phoebe reflected that, over the last couple of days, they had walked up to the attic more times than they had in the last year. Even though they had all been thankful the demon-fighting had slowed down recently, she had to admit, she sort of missed it... and she was pretty certain her sisters did too.

"You know what I don't understand?" Phoebe asked suddenly.

"What?" Paige replied, as they walked through the attic door.

"I was Queen of the Underworld less than a year after we lost Prue. And yet... I never even heard of her. Never met her."

"Well, you didn't meet all the demons down there, did you?" Piper asked, and Phoebe shook her head.

"And maybe Ricker kept her away from you and Cole, so you didn't recognise her?" Paige added, picking up a few ingredients as Piper lifted a small, but heavy, cauldron from a shelf.

"I guess... But why send her after us, if he didn't want us to see her?"

"You heard Prue, earlier. He only sent her after us when she got a flashback about dad." Piper said.

"Speaking of dad, we should call him. Let him know Prue's alive..."

"After. After all this is over and she's home for good." Piper said. "It's too risky to have him here right now, and he can't meet her yet anyway."

"I guess." Phoebe sighed. "What about Billie? Should we call her? Maybe she could help us out?"

"Pheebs, come on, she's busy with the baby." Paige said. "I miss her too, but she loves New York. And she invited us to go visit in a couple of months."

"I know." Phoebe sighed. "She's like Prue."

"Then we'll take her along." Piper said. "Come on, get looking."

While Phoebe leafed through the book of shadows, Paige and Piper began to mix up a complex potion that would, hopefully, give them some kind of sign as to what they faced...

----

As Preston and Louian shimmered back into the cave, covered in blood that wasn't their own, Preston tried to grin, but found it hard.

He loved killing. Had done for years. And sure, when he was little, it had been a little scary, a little weird even, but now it was... it was fun. The biggest thrill he had ever known, a big part of his life...

So how come it had been so hard to drive that knife into the business man?

He tried to tell himself it was just because they were outside, up there. That, even though they were in a dark, grungy ginnel late at night, he was scared of being seen, exposed. Ricker had always been careful not to get them exposed, and whenever there was a risk, Preston always felt uneasy.

But he knew it had nothing to do with the risk. All he wanted to do, as the man in the professional-looking suit had seen them, seen the knife glinting in Preston's hand, and his eyes had widened with fear, was run. Or shimmer, to be more exact. Anywhere, anywhere at all. Just not here. But Louian had conjured up a fireball, laughed a little as them man had gasped, cried "What are you?!?!" as though he was going to get an answer, then threw the fireball at the wall next to the man. It had missed by only an inch, but Preston knew it was deliberate. And as the man flinched, looking from the black mark on the wall to the demons before him, frozen to the spot with pure, undisguised fear, before Louian had even looked at him, Preston knew what Louian wanted. And he had no choice but to do it.

"You can take him, Pres." Louian said casually. "Cheer you up, wont it?" Preston half-thought maybe Louian was testing him, trying to make sure he was still evil, he hadn't gone soft like the rest of his family, save Ricker.

And so he had stepped forward, spun the knife between his fingers, catching the skin but not even noticing it.

"Oh, god..." The man had mumbled as Preston had walked towards him. He had spun around, finally able to move, but Louian had shimmered behind him. He was trapped.

The man had turned back to Preston, his eyes wide, his mouth open, his face so, so white.

And Preston had simply stepped forward, and pushed the blade into the soft flesh of the man's stomach.

He hadn't expected there to be so much blood, even though he had done this so many times before. He had forgotten what it looked like to see a man's eyes glaze over, the light behind them dim, the life slip away, the body fall to the floor heavily.

"Should we - shouldn't we move him?" Preston had asked, watching the blood slowly spread, closer and closer to his tatty shoes.

"Why?"

"I... We can't just leave him out in the open."

"Why not?"

"Um... I... don't know. Ricker always said we shouldn't." So had his mother, but he didn't want to think about her, never mind talk about her.

"Just leave him there." Louian had sneered. "Let the cops find him in the morning, waste a few weeks looking for his killer.

"Shouldn't at least push him to the side?"

Louian's eyebrows - or what was left of them, after at many scars and burns that littered his face - had risen, and his mouth had curled, but he had shrugged.

"If you want, you can."

Preston had leaned forward, took hold of the man's shoulders and began dragging him.

"Aren't you gonna help?"

"I though you wanted to be taught to work alone?"

"I do..."

"Then you can start by shifting him alone." So Preston had dragged the heavy weight over to the wall, thankfully only a few feet away, and let the man fall against it. He was by now covered with the thick red liquid that was still seeping out of the guy, slowly staining the floor, his own clothes, and now the bottom of the wall.

"Come on, kid, let's go." Louian said, and shimmered out. Preston had paused for half a second, just looking at the now lifeless man, and the word "Sorry" almost slipped out of his throat. He chocked it back and shimmered out, too, one word wringing in his head.

_Innocent._

----

I figured I better mention Billie, but don't worry she's not coming in the story.

And DrusillaBraun, does that help clear up your question? I'll probably put more in later too, when Prue's back.

More reviews please?


	15. The Blinding Whiteness

Hiya guys, me again! Don't know how many of you are actually going to know this has been updated - or is it just me who isn't getting any mails from ff? Maybe they just don't like me?

Chapter 15 - The Blinding Whiteness

A few hours later, not a single sign had appeared. Frustrated, Phoebe slammed the book of shadows shut, after reading it cover to cover for the fifth time.

"Looks like we're just going to have to wait." Paige sighed. "Whoever it is doesn't want to come out of hiding."

"Looks like it." Piper sighed. Glancing over at Phoebe, she tilted her head. "Do you think you could get a premonition?"

"Piper... I know I have better control now, but I still only get what I'm supposed to." Phoebe sighed. "I don't even know what I need to see."

"You need to see something killing us." Paige shrugged. "Or us killing something."

"Well, that narrows down the possibilities." Phoebe snapped. "The last time the elders told us we had some big threat, it turned out to be Billie and Christie. We don't even know if it's a demon we're after."

"Was that really the last time?" Piper asked.

"Yup." Phoebe replied.

"Wow."

"I know." Paige nodded.

"So see? It could be anything. Anyone."

"Maybe even my neighbour?" Paige asked brightly.

"Mmm... maybe." Phoebe agreed. "But don't bet on it. You'll have to just put up with her."

"Damn." Paige mumbled.

----

Prue had to blink a few times once they'd rematerilized. Everything was so _white_ up her. Clean and shiny and... white. The kind that burns your eyes and makes you feel sick.

Beside her, Parker and Perry, dizzy from the unfamiliar sensation of orbing, were blinking furiously against the pureness of it all.

Sandra, however, was unfazed.

"How can you live like this?" Prue mumbled.

"Like what?"

"It's all... shiny. Bright. Clean. Even Piper would go crazy up here."

"I don't know what you mean." Sandra smiled, as the elders around them tutted disapprovingly. But Prue was sure she winked at her, and Sandra definitly murmured "You get used to it".

"So, where do we go from here?" Prue asked. "Somewhere less blinding?"

"Yes." Sandra smiled. "This way." As Prue and her boys followed Sandra, the elders and whitelighters around them stopped and stared. Annoyed, and a little afraid, Prue put both an arm around each of her boys, protectivly. Motherly. Like she never had before.

It was different, Parker decided. Almost like what he had seen at Phoebe's place. It was... nice.

Finally, they walked through a large door. More than large - it was huge. Tall, wide, Prue could barely see where it ended. And, looking up, she realised she could see no ceiling. Only blinding brightness.

The door opened as they approached it, and Sandra walked stright into the room without batting an eyelid. Prue looked at the door with a kind of awed suspision, barely remembering the atomatic doors that supermarkets have, and never having seen a door one swing open like that. Perry and Parker stared in shock and fear, never having seen any kind of atomatic door before. And as Prue walked through it, Parker and Perry were a step ahead of her, hurrying through it, incase, she guessed, it closed again. If she didn't still have her arms around them, she supposed they would have ran.

The door swung shut behinbd them, but no one noticed. They were all staring around the room that faced them.

Prue supposed it was some kind of appartment. It was big, with a kitchenette at one wall - complete with a fridge and cooker, plus a small table with three chairs - and a sofa and TV by the other wall. Three doors were right opposite them.

This was all white too, even the TV, but not as blindingly as the outside.

"You boys will have to share a room." Sandra said. "We didn't have any three-bed places free."

"Are we living here?!" Perry asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes, until it safe to go back downstairs.

"Wow." Parker said. "This really beats the cave, mum."

"I know." Prue nodded, just barely stopping herself from adding her own "wow".

"Prue, your bedroom is that one on the end, the boys have the middle one, and the bathroom is on that end, by the kitchen. You are free to use all the food you want, and the fridge should keep refilling itself. The TV has most chanells you'll get down there, and one of them, 3374, I think, will show you your sisters."

"Really?"

"Yes. You'll figure it out, I daresay. Any promblems, we're just outside."

"OK."

"Then I guess I'll leave you." Sandra turned and walked out. As soon as the door shut behind her, the boys ran into "their" room.

"Wow!" Perry cried.

"What?" Prue asked, walking into the room after them.

"Look!" He had opened a light-wood wardrobe. "Clothes!" He cried, holding out a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt with a picture of a yellow boy on it. After a few seconds, she reliased it was Bart Simpson. The Simpsons. She should really get the boys to watch that sometime. Grinning broadly, Perry pulled of his tatty, blood-stained lether top, and replaced it with the Simpson t-shirt . "Real clothes!"

----

"Well, Preston? Nothing like a good killing, huh?" Louian smirked.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah." Preston nodded. "Listen, do you think maybe if I could talk to Parker and Perry -"

"Preston, kid, you have to let it go. Probably, they'll get bored of all that good crap soon anyway, and come looking for us."

"You think?"

"Yeah, course. Think how dull it must be." Louian sneered.

"Do you think maybe... maybe Prue'll come, too?" Preston asked, careful to use his mother's first name.

"No." Louian said flatly. "She started off good, and she's been good longer than she's been evil. An' she's back with her family now."

"I'm her family." Preston said, before he could think.

"Yeah. But don't count on her coming back to you." Louian drawled. "Just forget about it, kid. Your brothers'll come back sometime. Until then, I'll train you up, real good."

"Yeah." Preston said calmly. But inside, he wanted to scream. It was all their fault, his so-called aunts. The took his mum away, and his brothers. They ruined everything, destroyed his family.

And they would pay.

----

So, drop me a review. Btw, has anyone heard Teenagers by My Chemical Romance? Blasting it right now, love it!


	16. Battle Plan

Chapter 16 - Battle Plan

"Pres, kid, you gotta get over this." Louian said, and Preston regretted his expressing his desire for revenge.

"Why should I?" Preston asked, annoyed.

"Because they'll kill you. You're just a kid. You can't take on the Charmed Ones." Preston glared at him, scarily like his mother.

"At least I'd try." Preston snapped. "Try to fight them. At least I'd show them how much I hated them."

"No. I wont let you." Louian snapped. "If you want to kill, come on. We'll find someone."

"No! I don't want to kill just anyone! It has to be them!"

"I won't let you do this." Louian said calmly, with an underlying tone of anger in his voice.

"You can't stop me!" Preston yelled. "It isn't up to you, it's nothing to do with you!"

"Pres, I wont let you -"

"Try and stop me!" Preston yelled, and before Louian could even open his mouth, Preston had shimmered out.

"Damn." Louian murmured.

----

"This is what you've got?" Wyatt asked, one eyebrow raised, showing, despite his looks, a resemblance to his mother. "A basic vanquish?"

"Yes." Piper said, her tone challenging.

"What if it doesn't work?" Chris asked, his voice more worried than unimpressed.

"Then we have those bubble potions, power-striping, cages -"

"That's it?" Wyatt cried. "Great, we're all dead."

"Wyatt, don't talk to me like that." Piper said, her voice calm and threatening.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"We will not die." Paige said. "And I thought you guys were supposed to be sleeping."

"We did."

"Then why the dark circles and bad mood?" Paige asked sweetly. Wyatt glared at her while Chris grinned.

"Stop sniping." Phoebe murmured. "We need to be focussed."

"We don't even know when this thing's gonna happen." Lydia said. "How can we be focussed all the time?"

"We can't." Chris replied.

"No, we can't." Paige nodded. "But we're not going to argue with each other, use our powers for no reason at all," when she said this, all nine kids looked guilty - all of them, at one time or another, had used their magic when they weren't supposed to - "and... ah..." She glanced at Piper.

"We've decided everyone's going stay here for the time being."

"At the manor?" Sydney asked.

"Yes. For a couple of weeks, then if nothing happens we'll see how it goes in your own houses. But it's safer if we're all together."

"Where are they all going to sleep?" Linnie asked.

"We'll have to make do with camp beds." Piper said. "Wyatt, Chris and Henry will share Chris's room." Ignoring the protests, she spoke just a little bit louder. "Paige and Henry are having Wyatt's room. Phoebe and Coop, and Prudence, Paris and Phoenix are going to sleep up here, and the twins will share Linnie's room with her. Look, I know it's not ideal, but it's the safest plan we got. Phoebe and I used to share a bedroom with Prue, right up until Prue turned fourteen, and Grams moved into our mother's old room and let Prue have hers." A year later, she herself had moved into her mother's room... although she knew it upset Prue too much to go in there, right up until a she had married Leo and Prue had swapped, it had made Piper feel closer to her mum. "So you lot can manage two weeks doing the same. You've shared before." She added. "Slept over and stuff." At times, she thought, the cousins were as close as siblings... and sometimes they fought like them.

"Yeah, but living together..." Wyatt said.

"Wyatt, you are the oldest. I expect you to help your mother and aunts out by doing this." Leo said mildly, and Wyatt sighed.

"I want to keep my bed." He said finally.

"We can do that." Leo said, smiling faintly.

"Then I guess we'll orb by our place and pick some stuff up." Paige said. "Do you want us to take the kids...?"

"Nah, leave them here." Piper said. "We'll be fine for an hour or so."

"OK. Be careful, all of you. And you listen to Piper and Leo." She directed at her kids. "Love you..." She said softly, as she and Henry orbed out, their hands clasped.

"You and Coop should go get some stuff too, Pheebs." Piper said. "We'll watch the girls."

"Ah... OK." Phoebe glanced at Coop. "Do your teleportation thing." She said. "It'll be quicker."

"Sure." He said, and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"We'll be real quick." Phoebe said, then she and Coop glowed red and vanished.

"Right, kids, let get the rooms ready." Piper said, her voice bright... and fake...

----

Invisible, in his old home, Preston looked around nervously. It was empty, still, which must mean word hadn't yet spread of what happened. Maybe he could kill those witches and bring his mum and brothers home... maybe no one would even find out, and it'd be like nothing had ever even happened.

He wasn't stupid - he knew it wouldn't be easy to kill them all. He didn't even know if he could kill them all. Probably not, not alone. He could maybe kill one of the witches though. His _aunts_. Then that stupid power of three would be over. He would kill as many as he could, but even if he only got one, it'd do, right?

And if he died himself... well, he'd damn well make sure he took them down with him. And then it would be worth it... boy, would it be worth it.

He walked silently over to the rocky shelf, and ran his fingers over what it held. Carefully, he picked up a small, sharp knife, the handle bound in leather. It was his mother's... she had never used it, he didn't think, but had bought it at the market a long time ago. It was her most prized possession, he remembered, even though she hadn't used it, she used to take it for luck, sometimes, and sometimes just look at it...

He slipped it carefully into his belt, along with his own atheme, and the small knife he carried. They - and fireballs - should do the job, he decided. Now, for a little surveillance - he wasn't leaving any room for error...

----

I don't think much even happened in this chapter, did it? Well, I guess it sucked, but review anyway, k? Next chapter, some real stuff should happen... I should go write that...


	17. Obvious

Hiya guys, me again! Been a while, but there didn't seem much point in updating while the mails weren't working, and yesterday the document wouldn't upload, but it's here now!

Chapter 17 - The Obvious

He was sat openly on the couch - unknown to him, it belonged to his great-aunt-Pearl. He watched as his aunts, uncles and cousins walked around him. He was, of course, invisible, and unless anybody got a sudden desire to sit on a tatty, burned couch with half the cover ripped away from one side, he was safe. And it was, strangely, comfortable.

It was almost funny, really, watching them try to come up with ways of killing him. Well, OK, not him, specifically. But he assumed he was who they were talking about. He'd pretty much figured, from what they were saying, that someone - the elders, whoever they were - had warned them someone was coming after them. And - damn it - they'd had taken his mother and Parker and Perry. He had thought about it over the last half-hour, and decided on a new plan. Well, not so much a new plan. Just a... well, he didn't know what it was called. A distraction. A prequel. A something.

Deciding that now the was the perfect time, he stood up and, almost lazily, tossed at fireball at them.

He was still invisible, and by the time Phoebe realised there was a fire-ball coming towards her, it was too late. It caught her on the left shoulder, causing a searing pain, and making the flesh begin to peel away.

She cried out, and everyone seemed to turn around at the same time. Not wanting to disappoint, he made himself visible.

"Hiya." He said cheerfully, then threw another fireball at them. This one missed everyone, flying at least a foot too high to hit anyone, and crashing into the wooden beams.

"Preston?" Piper gasped. "What are you - hey!" She blasted him, only lightly, before the atheme had left his hand. The small blasted that bounced off his arm sent him spinning, and the atheme fell to the floor, twirling across the wooden floor. He smiled to himself as he steadied himself, then forced his face into a scowl.

"Big mistake, bitch." He said. "I'll be back." And with that, he shimmered out.

Tears were streaming down Phoebe's face from the pain, Linnie was stood still, her arms out, ready to either freeze, blow-up, or ice-over, whatever she had been about to decide on. Chris had an arm already around her, ready to pull her back so she wouldn't be hurt. Henry had stepped in front of his own kids at some point, and Coop had pushed his girls behind him, then stepped forward to Phoebe. Leo had pulled Wyatt out of the way when it looked as though the second fireball might have hit him - and now they all stood, frozen to the spot.

"I think we found our evil." Paige siad dizzily. Slowly, she took a step to the side and absently healed Phoebe's shoulder.

"It's Preston?" Piper murmured. "It's our nephew..."

----

He would give them an hour, and only an hour. Then, if they hadn't gotten Prue back down, he would kill them all. If they had, he would kill them anyway.

An hour. _Tick-tock_.

----

"I can't believe we're expected to vanquish our own nephew!" Phoebe cried. "He's what - 10?"

"Thirteen." Paige said quietly. "He's barely a teenager." She glanced over at her own son, who was sat between his sisters on tyhe floor. At least all these demons had done one thing - made all the kids close, and protective of each other.

"He's just a kid." Piper sighed. "We can't vanquish him. We aren't meant to." She said firmly. "We get Prue and the boys back down here, wait for him -"

"Ore summon him with this." Linnie interrupted, holding up the atheme Preston had left behind.

"Or summon him." Piper agreed. "Then Prue can talk some sense into him."

"She couldn't before." Phoebe pointed out.

"He also swore he wouldn't come after us." Paige said.

"Well he lied. And I'm guessing she'll have something to say about that. She better."

"Then you and Phoebe work on potions." Paige said carefully. "And I'll go get them. Call me if you need me."

"OK. Be fast. And be careful." Piper siad, and with a nod, Paige disappeared in a cloud of orbs.

----

The blinding whiteness wasn't so blinding when you got used to it, really. And the beds were comfy, the food great... Prue could really get used to living up here.

She jumped when a loud knocking noise sounded, and Parker and Perry jumped too, looking at her with wide-eyes.

"Uh, hello?" Prue called, standing up and looking at the door, wishing she had powers.

"Prue?" Sandra's voice came loudly from nowhere. "Can we come in?"

"We? Ah, sure..." Prue said nervously. "Ready to shimmer." She murmured to her boys, even though she didn't know if they could up here. Then both nodded, and waited for her signal, should it come.

The door opened - she still couldn't get over how big that thing was - and Sandra walked in - followed by another elder, an old man with a long grey beard and bald head, and -

"Paige?" Prue still wasn't sure exactly how she felt about this girl. Sure, she was her sister, and sure, she seemed a nice enough person. But she didn't even know her...

"Prue... your sisters need your help." Sandra said uncertainly.

"My help... why...?" Prue said slowly.

"We were attacked." Paige answered. "Um..."

"Oh, my god, is everyone OK?" Prue said, her heart freezing as she stepped forward. She could still barely remember them properly... and yet she already loved and cared about them unbelievably.

"Yeah, everyone's fine. Phoebe got hit, but she's fine, I healed her."

"Why - why do you need me?" Prue asked, a feeling of dread settling in the bottom of her stomach. She had a pretty good guess... but she didn't want to believe it...

"It was Preston who attacked us." Paige said quietly.

"Preston?" Behind Prue, Parker had spoken, his voice shocked. "But he said..."

"Are you sure? What happened?" Prue asked. It couldn't be... he wouldn't have...

"I'm sure." Paige nodded. "I'm really sorry. He must have shimmered in behind us. We were all in the attic, and he threw a fireball. Caught Phoebe on the shoulder."

"Oh, god." Prue mumbled.

"Messed it up some, but like I said, I fixed it. We are realised then, that he was there. He threw another fireball, then, um..."

"What?"

"He took out an atheme." Paige said nervously. "Piper blasted him - only a little - and he dropped it. Then he - uh, said something and left."

"What did he say?" Prue asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Uh, something about a mistake. Big mistake."

"And?"

"He called Piper a bitch. Said he'd be back."

"Right." Prue said. "Well, I shouldn't have let him go in the first place, should I?" She sighed. She had regretted it as soon as he'd gone. "I'm a bad mother." She sighed.

"I'm sure you're not, Prue." Paige said. "He's just a kid... and he's alone, and scared, and I guess his head's pretty messed up right now."

Prue just looked at her, unsure what to believe, but Sandra smiled at Paige.

"What do you need me to do?" Prue asked finally.

"Talk to him. If he comes back, maybe you can make him come home."

"And if he doesn't?" Parker asked suddenly. "Then what?"

"We'll deal with that if and when it happens." Prue said firmly, without turning around. "Let's go. Uh -" She looked at Sandra. "Can someone what the boys for a while -"

"We wanna come too!" Perry cried.

"No." Prue snapped. "You'll stay here and -"

"Actually, I think you should take them." Sandra said. "They could help." Prue glared at her.

"And what if I have to vanquish my son?" She said, her voice dangerous and low. "They supposed to watch that?"

Perry didn't hear what she said, but Parker, who was a few steps closer, did, and he paled suddenly. Vanquish Preston? Would they really do that?

"Prue... it wont come to that." Paige said. "And it might help to have them around... but if you don't want them to be, they can stay with Leo, Coop and Henry until it's all over."

"I want to be there." Parker said defiantly. "You can't make me go away."

"Fine." Prue snapped. "Fine! Let's just go!"


	18. Risk Everything

Been a little while, I think, but I just never got round to it. But it's here now, and I want lots of reviews, please. I wanna know what you all think of it.

Chapter 18 - Risk Everything...

When the small crowd finally orbed into the attic, it seemed hard for Prue to breath. Her hands were shaking, she realised suddenly, and she tucked them into the pockets of the jeans she was wearing.

"Hey." Phoebe smiled. "You got new clothes?"

"What? Oh. Yeah. The elders gave us them..."

"Well, they're better than the tatty old leathers." Phoebe smiled. "No bloodstains."

"Uh, yeah." Prue replied, and when Piper caught her eye, she guitily remembered where some of those stains had come from.

"Ah, Piper, about, you know, the other night. I'm... sorry -"

"Don't worry about it." Piper siad breezily. "Been a while since I was stabbed... it's good to lose some blood once in a while." Absently, she fingered the spot where the knife had sliced through her, although of course there was nothing there.

"Sorry." Prue repeated. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're going to summon him." Piper said, holding up the atheme Preston had left behind. "Into the cage. That way, he can't get out."

"Right."

"Hopefully, you can talk him round." Phoebe added. Prue nodded, her eyes on the atheme. She had given him that, when he was seven. He'd begged for one of his own, and his eyes had lit up when she'd given it to him. He'd never gone anywhere without it... and she was sure he wouldn't have just left it...

"Summon him." She said, it suddenly dawning on her. "Fast. Now!"

"What? Why?"

"We need to make sure he's in that cage -"

"A cage mum? Really?" Preston's voice, loud, and almost amused, make them all jump.

"Will you stop doing that?!" Piper cried. Before Preston could even form the fireball, Chris had knocked him off his feet, telekinetically.

"Preston... what are you doing?" Prue asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I've come to get you home." Preston replied, getting up and brushing his clothes down. His face set, he looked emotionless, demonic. But Prue could see it in his eyes... the fear, the vunerablility. Paige was right - he was just a kid, and he was alone. Messed up.

"This is home, Pres." Prue murmured. "I know you like to think you're so evil, so unstoppable. And that's my fault, that's the way I've raised you. It's the way I used to want you to be... But you shouldn't be like that."

"Mum, just let's go home. There's isn't any demons there yet, no one even knows what happened, 'cept Louian. It can all go back to normal, just without Ricker."

"Preston... god, I can't believe how badly I messed up." She sighed. "I raised you all wrong, and I never even knew it. You're thirteen, you shouldn't be killing witches and carrying atheme's and hunting knives." She knew, of course, that's he'd have brough her knife with him. She just knew. "You should be... be playing football, and computer games, and hanging out with friends, and - and being all annoying, like all the other teenage boys out there. I messed it up, the whoole mother thing, and I'm so sorry. But we can start again, do it all properly. You can go to school, and be like all the other kids."

"Why would I want to do that?" Preston snapped, but Prue heard the shake in his voice.

"Cause you've missed us, haven't you? You were all alone out there, for the first time ever. I shouldn't have let you go... it was so stupid of me. You came back here to get me and your brothers home, right? And to hurt these guys, 'cause you blame them for taking me away. I understand that, but it wasn't because of them. I chose to come home."

"This isn't home." Preston said, and he angrily brushed away the tear that had started to slip from his eye. "This isn't home! They - they've just messed you up, made you think you're good. But your not - your not!" He was yelling now, and Piper's eyes slid nervously over to where the kids and her husband and brothers-in-law were stood. She didn't care if her was her nephew - if he tried to hurt any of them, she'd throw the potion in her hand. She had no choice.

"Just come back to me." Prue whispered.

"No. I don't belong here." He was crying now. She'd never seen him cry, not since before he was a year old. But slowly, tears tracked down his face. "We don't belong here. We're not human."

"We are... you are."

"No!" Preston yelled, and after violently wiping his arm across his face, he tossed a fireball. None of them had expected it, and it was barely two metres away from Paige before Prue reacted. She'd seen the flash of fire before the others, had dived...

It caught her squarly in the chest, and her eyes widened as it hit her. Strangly, there was little pain, just a warm feeling.

"Mum!" She heard the cry as though from a distance, heard the vague sound of running feet. Heard someone say her name... but sye couldn't see anything, and slowly the voices dimmed, 'till she could barely hear them.

There was a bright light, but not like "up there" had been. It was golden, and somehow calming. She saw a figuyre walking towards her, a siloette against the amazing light. And only when he was closer did she realise who he was.

"Andy." She murmured. "Andy..."

"Prue." He said softly, and took hold of her hands. "Nice to see you again."

"Andy." She said, sounding dazed. Feeling dazed. "What... am I dead?" She asked slowly.

"No. Not exactly. It's not time for you to leave them yet, Prue. You need to be with them for a lot longer before you come here."

"Then why...?"

"I'm going to send you back." He said. "In a minute. Listen to me, you have to listen. You can't reason with Preston, he doesn't need you to convince him. He needs you to tell him. Just tell him, and he'll come home."

"How do you...?"

"Because I know you. And I know them." He smiled. "I've been watching over you all, for a long time. He needs you to be his mother. You're a good mum, Prue. I always said you would be."

"Will you come back, too?"

"No. I can't. But I'll always be with you. And the boys. Remember that. Remember who you are. Always."

"Will I see you again...?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Just... concentrate on your family." And now, she could hear them again. Their voices. "Goodbye." He murmured.

"Bu..."

And then she was back on the attic floor, a little sore from where she'd landed on the hard wood.

"Prue!" Phoebe. It was Phoebe saying her name. "Prue, wake up, god wake up..."

"Pheebs?" She opened her eyes slowly, knowing it would hurt. She was right.

"Prue! She's awake, you're awake."

"Yeah." She murmured. She could still feel Andy's hand holding hers... She blinked, and suddenly saw Preston's pale face looking at her in horror. He was a still stood where he had been when he'd hit her, and Andy's words came back to her. She stood up - a little too fast, she had to grab Paige's shoulder to stop herself from falling.

Now she could see that Piper was watching Preston wearily, her hand ready to freeze him. Or blow him up, she realised.

"I - I'm sorry - I didn't mean to -"

"Preston Joseph Halliwell." Prue said, her eyes narrowed. Preston jolted. He'd known his middle name was Joseph - a silly human thing she couldn't get over, she'd told him long ago, but he'd never had a last name.

"I - I -"

"Now you listen to me." Prue said firmly. "You are going to come home, and stop being so ridiculous."

"Bu -"

"I don't want to hear it. I am your mother, evil or not. And I'm telling you that we're are going to live up here now, stop killing innocents, and be _good. _Understand?"

For what seemed like a long time, he just looked at her, a faintly surprised look on his face. Then...

"Yes, mum." She heard the startled sounds behind her, and surpressed a smile.

_Thank you Andy._

"OK. Welcome home." She murmured. She took two steps forward, and pulled him into the first real hug he'd ever had.

----

**Well, there you go, they're all home. Hope that's how everyone wanted it to go. Next one will probably be last chapter, guys, so let me know what you thought.**


	19. Home Sweet Home

Chapter 19 - Home Sweet Home

"As if we couldn't have figured it out ourselves." Piper said, shaking her head in annoyance as the last trail of orbs vanished. The elders had orbed down practically three seconds after Preston had spoke the words.

It hadn't taken a genius to work out he was this big evil, after all, and they could have guessed Prue was able to live on earth now.

Powerless.

"I can't believe they don't have a way to give you your powers back." Phoebe ranted.

"Yet. They don't have a way yet." Prue murmured distractedly. She had been dying to ask the elder about Andy, but she was afraid he'd be in trouble with them. As far as she knew, the dead weren't supposed to save her from dying.

He had, she knew he had. She had been so close to dying... and he had saved her. Somehow. She didn't really understand it.

"Yeah, well don't hold your breath, honey." Paige sighed.

"I thought you whitelighters were supposed to like the Elders." Prue stated, looking slyly at Leo.

"Hey! I could be offended by that." Leo said.

"So could I." Paige said with an almost shy smile.

"Whitelighters might like the elders, but Halliwell's don't." Piper said. "And Paige is a Halliwell."

"OK." Prue murmured.

"OK, Prue, we're going to have to work out where all you guys are staying." Piper said. "I suppose Wyatt and Chris can share a room -"

"What? That's not fair!" Wyatt cried.

"And your boys could have the other one -"

"Piper, they can keep their rooms." Prue said carefully.

"What?"

"We can't all live here. There isn't enough room. The boys and I can get our own place."

"But..."

"Come on, you know it makes more sense. I can't just stay here."

"But everyone thinks you're dead." Phoebe pointed out.

"Well... the elders will have to fix that." Prue shrugged. "But we can't just hide in here."

"Well, while you're house hunting, you're staying here." Piper said. "No arguing."

"OK. That's OK."

----

A few hours later, Prue sat on the edge of the small bed in Grams old sewing room. And Wyatt's old bedroom. Wyatt had stayed where he was in Chris's, and she and her boys were sharing the one room. It was a little weird, sure, but they'd lived in a cave for their whole lives, so they weren't complaining.

They were downstairs now, watching cartoons with their cousins. A few minutes ago, they'd willing drank the binding potion Piper had made. It only bound their demon halves, and the elders had told her that the boys probably had move witch powers - besides invisibility - that had been suppressed. so all they would do was wait.

She knew that her nephews and nieces didn't really trust her boys... she didn't know if she did either, though.

Or herself.

She only jumped a little bit when he spoke. She'd half expected him to come - and there he was, stood by the window.

"Hi." She replied. He hadn't changed much... hardly at all actually. A few lines around the eyes, and his hair was just a little bit longer, so it flopped over his forehead. "Thanks for the advice... he's home now."

"I told you he would be."

"Yeah. Thanks." She said. "I... ah, Andy, how can you be here? I didn't think they allowed the dead to come back like this...?"

"I... ah... I'm not dead... I mean, technically I am..."

"You're a whitelighter." She stated, almost disappointed. For a second there... it was stupid, but a part of her had thought maybe they'd let him live again... for her...

"Yes." He nodded, looking into her eyes.

"How come you - after you died - you never came to me -"

"I couldn't. They wouldn't let me... But I watched you. I watched over you, and when the demon took you... I tried to tell the elders, but they couldn't sense you, they refused to believe me."

"Damn elders." She muttered absently. "Andy... does this mean we can be together..." She hardly dare ask, and when she did she saw the answer in his eyes.

"No." He said softly, sounding genuinely disappointed. "We can't... I wish we could, but as soon as they found out you were still alive, they warned me."

"Warned you?"

"If you and I tried to be together, they would just take me away, wipe my memory, stop me going anywhere near you."

"Oh. So if we're not together we can still see each other?"

"We have to." He smiled. "I'm your boys' whitelighter."

"What? Oh, your going to be around all the time, and oh, god, why are they doing this?" She said, her face distressed.

"Shh, shh, calm down."

"No, I can't. Andy, do you know what it's like being stood right in front of you? For the last fifteen years the only real feelings I've ever felt were towards my sons. Now, I love my sisters again, and all my nephews and nieces, but god this is different. I feel exactly the same about you as I did..."

"Prue, you got over me. You were over me, dating other guys -"

"I can barely remember that. Half of my life is still blurry. And... I never really did forget you. I just learned to live without you."

"I'll tell them I can't be the boys' whitelighter." He said slowly. "Then you wont have to see me anymore -"

"No! You're the best they could have." She smiled. "I... I can get over you. Really."

"Prue... let's just take it slowly, OK? We'll show them we can be around each other... work together..."

"Why... why can't we... I mean, I don't even have powers... I'm not a witch..."

"No... you're not... but they're working on it. They want you to have powers, to protect yourself. It could happen."

"And me and you? I'd rather have you than powers." She stated, her voice flat.

"I know. We'll just have to wait and see what the future brings. If it's meant to happen, it will. It's -"

"You say "destiny" and I'll hit you." Prue replied casually.

"Wasn't going to!" He said quickly, but his smile wasn't entirely convincing. She looked away, forcing a smile as she concentrated on the wall next to him. It hurt to look at him.

----

Piper flicked the switch on the coffee maker and hummed to herself as she tided the kitchen. It was pretty clean and organised anyway, but the didn't stop her shifting things a little. Finally, she heard footsteps on the stairs, and turned around. Prue walked into the kitchen, and smiled shyly at her.

"Morning."

"Morning. Just like old times." Piper smiled. She put another cup on the counter, and poured the dark liquid out when it was ready. She held it out to Prue, sugarless and milk less, smiling proudly. "It's good to have you home."

"It's good to be home." Prue nodded, looking carefully at the coffee. "Um, thanks." She mumbled, and put the cup in front of her. "What... what is this stuff?"

"Coffee." Piper said, her smile confused. "You... you couldn't face the day without at least one cup."

"Oh." Prue replied. She sniffed the cup carefully, then put it to her lips. Barely a drop had passed her lips before she pulled a face and put the cup down. "That's disgusting."

"Dis... but... you loved it." Piper said, her smile fading. "Since you were like, seventeen, you were addicted. You don't like it?"

"Sorry." Prue said quietly.

"What? No, it's OK. I'm just surprised. But it's fine. You want something else? Tea? Water?"

"Water is fine." Prue replied. "I'll get it."

Piper nodded, watched her get a glass and fill it with water.

OK, so it wasn't like before, and it never would be. All there lives had changed, and it couldn't be like it used to. But, Piper decided, with some time, it would be some kind of normality, of life, of family.

They'd just have to wait and see what the future brought.

**The End.**

**OK, so I kinda left it open for a sequel, but I don't know if I'll ever do one. Or if anyone would even want one. Thanks to all of you who reviewed, I love you all!**


	20. Sequel

Hiya guys I just wanted to let you know there's now a sequel to this, called Ties Can Break. So, it's up now, and, well that's all I really have to say. Bye!  



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